Page 152 - (DK) Help Your Kids with Language Arts

150 SPELLING

Words ending in SEE ALSO

26–27 Adjectives
-able or -ible    136–137 Morphemes
140–141 Roots
142–143 Prefixes and suffixes
SPELLING WORDS WITH SIMILAR-SOUNDING SUFFIXES CAN  144–145 Hard and soft letter sounds
Single and double
BE CONFUSING. consonant words 154–155 

The suffixes -able and -ible both mean “able to.” For example,
adaptable means “able to adapt.” However, it can be difficult
GLO S S A RY
to decide which suffix to use, as they are not interchangeable.
Adjective A word that describes
a noun.
Suffix A group of letters attached to
Words ending in -able the end of a word that can change
the original word’s meaning.
The suffix -able is usually added to complete words to turn Syllable A unit of pronunciation that
them into adjectives. Learning a few simple rules makes it has one vowel sound.
easier to decide which suffix to use. More words end in -able Verb A word that describes an action.
than -ible, so, if in doubt, choose -able. Best of all, check
Vowel One of the five letters a, e,
the correct spelling in a dictionary.
i, o, and u.

▷ Rule 1
Words ending in
-able are usually enjoy -able
formed from two enjoyable
separate words
that make sense
individually.
This is the first The suffix is the When combined, the two
word, a verb. second word. words form an adjective.

▷ Rule 2
When -able is
added to a word
that ends in -e, value -able valuable
the e is usually
removed.

This verb Remove the e and add The e is removed to form
ends in -e. the suffix. the new adjective.

▷ Rule 3
Often, if a word
ends in -y, the y
is replaced with an rely i -able reliable
i before the suffix
-able is added.
This verb ends Replace the y with
in -y . the vowel i. Add the suffix. With the addition of the
suffix, the verb rely has been
changed into an adjective.