Stack the nouns: the head goes last
English piles nouns up to describe a product in a few words. The last noun is the head — the main thing; every noun to its left describes the one on its right. Read a long chain from right to left. (El núcleo va al final; se lee de derecha a izquierda.)
1 · Choose a product phrase
The modifier noun is singular
The noun that describes works like an adjective, so it drops the plural -s — even when the idea is plural: a two-door car, never two-doors. Tap a pair to see it before and after. (El sustantivo que modifica va en singular.)
⭐ Careful: a few fixed compounds keep the plural — a sports car, a clothes shop, a sales team. See the special-cases card below.
From the long of / for / that version to the chain
Both versions are correct English. The long one explains; the compressed one is what labels, adverts and product names use. Pick a phrase and compress it. (La versión larga explica; la comprimida es la de las etiquetas y anuncios.)
Which one when? Use the chain for a type of thing (a water bottle, a retail price). Go back to of when the chain grows past about three modifiers: ✔ the manager of the customer service department.
Plurals that stay, possessives, spelling & overload
What Spanish speakers usually get wrong
In Spanish the head comes first and the modifier follows with de (botella de agua); in English the order is reversed and the head lands at the end. (Invierte el orden del español y lee la cadena de derecha a izquierda.)
👩🏫 For the teacher — how this page maps to the manual
- Explore is Structure 8 made touchable: the stacking machine uses the manual’s own jumbled/correct pairs (luxury car production line, soft drink can manufacturing process, sportswear design concept, Brasília children’s clothing factory, uniformed city street cleaners) and reads each chain right to left. The singular card, the compressor, the five exceptions and the pitfall box come straight from the section.
- Build is productive: students assemble the modifier + head for a given meaning (exercise C), then transform — ordering tasks and error corrections from exercises B and D plus Task set 26 of the Homework Book.
- Drill is one graded flow of 13 items (★ head and singular · ★★ order and error correction · ★★★ four-word chains, possessive, fixed plurals) with score, streak and best result on the device.
- Works offline. Reading/writing only — no audio. Touch only: no drag and drop.
Build a noun phrase
Read the meaning, then choose the modifier and the head. The machine stacks them — guess before you check.
Drill — one flow, three levels
★ head & singular · ★★ order & fix the error · ★★★ long chains, possessive & fixed plurals. Keep your streak alive. (Igual escalera que tu Cuaderno de tareas.)