Able or Ible
2022-12-24
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about how to use "-able" and "-ible" suffixes.
2Hello teacher!
3I am Md. Abdur Rahman from Bangladesh.
4I am a student and have been learning English for a long time.
5To improve my listening and speaking skills every night I listen to the VOA English podcast.
6However, I am not good at English spelling mainly when I write sentences.
7I feel confused over suffixes like "-able" vs "-ible."
8How can I be an expert in English spelling?
9Please help me and share your valuable suggestions.
10Sincerely yours,Md. Abdur Rahman.
11Thank you, Abdur Rahman for writing to us. English spelling is difficult even for native speakers.
12The English writing system is old, and it does not match up with how we pronounce things now.
13But there are "rules" and methods we can use that might help improve our spelling ability.
14We add the suffixes "-able" and "-ible" to the ends of words to create an adjective meaning "able to," for example, "fixable."
15I broke the coffee pot. Do you think it's fixable?
16We pronounce both endings with a "schwa."
17It is used in expressing unstressed central vowels, like in the word visible.
18If you drive out to the countryside, the stars are even more visible!
19The ending "-able" is more common because it is considered a "living" suffix.
20This means that we can create new words with it.
21We do not use the suffix "-ible" to make new words because it is used for Latin-based words.
22And there are no new Latin words, as it is now a dead language with no native speakers.
23While there are always exceptions to spelling rules in English, we do have a few rules that can help us figure out which spelling to use.
24Let's start with "-able."
25We add "-able" to full words, often dropping an "e" in the process.
26Adorable is a good example.
27You start with the word "adore," which means to love or like very much.
28Now, we drop the "e" from "adore" and put "able" in its place
29I saw the most adorable dog on my walk.
30In this sentence, adorable could be substituted with "cute."
31There are exceptions though, so watch out for words like "available" and "capable."
32If you take the suffix off, the roots of these words cannot stand alone.
33If a word ends in a /k/ or /g/ sound, use "-able," like the word "despicable."
34Their favorite movie is "Despicable Me."
35Let's move onto "-ible."
36Remember that the number of words with "-ible" will not change because there is a limited number of words from Latin that we use with the suffix.
37Since it is not a living suffix, we cannot add it to form new words.
38Most -ible words cannot stand on their own.
39They need the suffix to be a word.
40For example, "possible."
41"Poss" is not a word. It needs the suffix "-ible" to be "possible."
42But like the suffix "-able," there are exceptions to this rule.
43Like the word flexible. "Flex" can be a word on its own.
44For both suffixes you should remember general spelling rules.
45One rule is especially notable.
46You should drop the "e" on the end of a word when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.
47For example, "likable."
48She was very likable in high school.
49There is an exception to this rule.
50Do not drop the "e" when words end in "ce" or "ge."
51This has to do with the sounds /g/ or /s/.
52The letter "e" is needed to keep the consonant sound the same.
53For example: Danceable and Changeable
54Latin music is so danceable!
55The date is changeable for the tickets.
56Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you!
57What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
58And that's Ask a Teacher.
59I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about how to use "-able" and "-ible" suffixes. 2Question 3Hello teacher! 4I am Md. Abdur Rahman from Bangladesh. I am a student and have been learning English for a long time. To improve my listening and speaking skills every night I listen to the VOA English podcast. However, I am not good at English spelling mainly when I write sentences. I feel confused over suffixes like "-able" vs "-ible." How can I be an expert in English spelling? 5Please help me and share your valuable suggestions. 6Sincerely yours, 7Md. Abdur Rahman. 8Answer 9Thank you, Abdur Rahman for writing to us. English spelling is difficult even for native speakers. The English writing system is old, and it does not match up with how we pronounce things now. 10But there are "rules" and methods we can use that might help improve our spelling ability. 11We add the suffixes "-able" and "-ible" to the ends of words to create an adjective meaning "able to," for example, "fixable." 12I broke the coffee pot. Do you think it's fixable? 13We pronounce both endings with a "schwa." It is used in expressing unstressed central vowels, like in the word visible. 14If you drive out to the countryside, the stars are even more visible! 15The ending "-able" is more common because it is considered a "living" suffix. This means that we can create new words with it. 16We do not use the suffix "-ible" to make new words because it is used for Latin-based words. And there are no new Latin words, as it is now a dead language with no native speakers. 17While there are always exceptions to spelling rules in English, we do have a few rules that can help us figure out which spelling to use. 18Let's start with "-able." 19"-Able" 20We add "-able" to full words, often dropping an "e" in the process. 21Adorable is a good example. You start with the word "adore," which means to love or like very much. Now, we drop the "e" from "adore" and put "able" in its place 22I saw the most adorable dog on my walk. 23In this sentence, adorable could be substituted with "cute." 24There are exceptions though, so watch out for words like "available" and "capable." If you take the suffix off, the roots of these words cannot stand alone. 25If a word ends in a /k/ or /g/ sound, use "-able," like the word "despicable." 26Their favorite movie is "Despicable Me." 27Let's move onto "-ible." 28"-Ible" 29Remember that the number of words with "-ible" will not change because there is a limited number of words from Latin that we use with the suffix. Since it is not a living suffix, we cannot add it to form new words. 30Most -ible words cannot stand on their own. They need the suffix to be a word. For example, "possible." 31"Poss" is not a word. It needs the suffix "-ible" to be "possible." 32But like the suffix "-able," there are exceptions to this rule. 33Like the word flexible. "Flex" can be a word on its own. 34Remember the spelling rules 35For both suffixes you should remember general spelling rules. 36One rule is especially notable. 37You should drop the "e" on the end of a word when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel. 38For example, "likable." 39She was very likable in high school. 40There is an exception to this rule. 41Do not drop the "e" when words end in "ce" or "ge." This has to do with the sounds /g/ or /s/. The letter "e" is needed to keep the consonant sound the same. 42For example: Danceable and Changeable 43Latin music is so danceable! 44The date is changeable for the tickets. 45Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you! 46What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 47And that's Ask a Teacher. 48I'm Faith Pirlo. 49Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 50_____________________________________________________________ 51Words in This Story 52pronounce - v. to make the sound of (a word or letter) with your voice 53unstressed - adj. not having an accent 54vowel - n. speech sounds made with your mouth open and your tongue in the middle of your mouth not touching your teeth, lips, etc. 55visible - adj. capable of being seen 56odds - n. the possibility that something will happen 57cute - adj. having a pleasing, youthful appearance 58despicable - adj. very bad or unpleasant: deserving to be despised 59flexible - adj. willing to change or to try different things 60consonants - n. a speech sound (such as /p/, /d/, or /s/) that is made by partly or completely stopping the flow of air breathed out from the mouth 61_____________________________________________________________ 62Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 63Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.