The sorting bench: seven ways to make a word
English never stops inventing. Knowing how a word was made helps you guess what it means. Tap a word, then tap the process that made it. (Toca la palabra y luego el proceso: no hace falta arrastrar.)
Two words in, one word out
A blend (or portmanteau) fuses two words and their meanings. Tap a letter in each word to choose where to cut: the machine keeps the start of word 1 and the end of word 2. (Elige dónde cortar cada palabra.)
Both are initials — the difference is how you say it
An acronym is read as a word (NASA = “nasa”); an initialism is read letter by letter (BBC = “bee-bee-cee”). Pick one and decide how it is said. (En español casi todas las siglas se leen como palabra — ONU, OTAN —; en inglés no.)
Special cases & traps
Errors Spanish speakers make
Read the sentence, find the problem, then tap Fix to check. (Errores típicos: adivina la corrección antes de verla.)
👩🏫 For the teacher — how this page maps to the manual
- Explore is Structure 10 in three benches: the sorting bench is the manual's table of seven processes (abbreviation, acronym, initialism, blend, compound, conversion, borrowing) with its own examples, sorted by tap-to-select / tap-to-place (no drag, so it works on a phone); the blend machine is the "Blends worth knowing" table turned into a cutting tool; the acronym vs initialism card is the first point of the exceptions box. The special-cases card is that exceptions box (acronym vs initialism, acronyms that lost their capitals, buzzwords & slang, guessing from the form) and the errors card is the pitfall box.
- Build is productive: students assemble a blend from its two pieces (exercise B / Task set 28), then transform — type the missing source word, the process name or the rewrite with BLEND (exercises A, B, D and the Unit 4 check).
- Drill merges the quizzes into one graded engine (★ name the process · ★★ blend vs compound, conversion, missing piece · ★★★ capitals, a blend of, wrong source word, buzzword) with a score and streak.
- Works offline. Reading/writing only — no audio.
Coin the word
Read the meaning, then choose the two pieces the blend needs. The machine glues them — guess before you check.
Drill — one flow, three levels
★ name the process · ★★ blend vs compound & conversion · ★★★ capitals, a blend of, buzzwords. Keep your streak alive. (Igual escalera que tu Cuaderno de tareas.)