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Click here to hear the suffix -able or -ible. |
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| comfortable | horrible |
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The suffixes -able and -ible often mean
'can be '. For example: inflatable - can be inflated flexible - can be bent or flexed |
Both these suffixes sound the same. The vowel sound in both is another example of the weak 'schwa' sound, so it does not help you decide between -able and -ible.
There is no simple rule to tell whether the ending should be spelled -able
or -ible.
The most common ending is -able so a sensible strategy would be:
1) Learn the -ible words you are most likely to need.
2) Use -able for all the other words.
First we'll look at -able, as it's the most common ending.
Read the clues, find the syllables to spell the words:
| com ob trans no mem re |
li or fort tain tice fer |
-able |
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Skip this exercise and go to the next part of this unit: A look at some -ible words. *
* Skip link not available for logged in students.
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