Learn to Spell Words with the Suffixes -able, -ably

We can use prefixes and suffixes to change the meaning of some words.  

We call the original word a root word.

 

Suffixes go at the end of words.

For example: cheer + ful = cheerful

The suffix -ful turns a noun (naming word) into an adjective (describing word).

 

 

In this activity, we will look at the use of the suffixes -able, and -ably. 

There are similar sounding words that end in -ible, and -ibly.  You can practise spelling these words in another activity.

 

The -able suffix creates an adjective (describing word).

For example:  adorable

 

 

The suffix -ably creates an adverb (word describing a verb or adjective)

For example: changeable, comfortably

 

But how do we know when to use -able and -ably rather than -ible and -ibly?

If a word has a word in the same family that ends in -ation, that usually means that it uses -able, -ably. 

For example considerable and consideration.

 

The -able ending is also usually used if a complete root word can be heard before it.  If the root word ends in y, this is often changed to an i.

For example: enjoyable, reliable

 

Here are some examples of words that use these suffixes that we will practise in this activity:

 

adorable

adorably

changeable

noticeable

dependable

enjoyable

reliable

 

You can listen to them here:

 

You can break the words up into the root and suffix to help you to spell them

ador able

ador ably

change able

notice able

depend able

enjoy able

reli able

 

Use Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check to practise spellings a few times before we begin the activities.