Ages 10–11 · Year 6
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Ollie the Owl
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✏️ Year 6 · English · Spelling

Words Ending in
–able & –ible

Master the rules for adding these suffixes — and never confuse them again!

👁️ Visual 🖐️ Kinesthetic 👂 Auditory
–able
or?
–ible
📋 Learning Objectives

What You Will Learn

1
Understand what the suffixes –able and –ible mean and how they are used.
2
Apply the key spelling rule: root-word-complete → usually –able; root incomplete → usually –ible.
3
Spell a range of common –able words correctly (e.g. adorable, comfortable, noticeable).
4
Spell a range of common –ible words correctly (e.g. visible, horrible, responsible).
5
Recognise and correct misspellings of –able / –ible words in context.
📖 Theory · Suffixes –able & –ible

What Do They Mean?

Both –able and –ible are suffixes added to verbs or roots to create adjectives meaning "able to be…" or "can be…". They sound very similar — that's what makes them tricky!
–able
means "able to be"
washable breakable dependable enjoyable
–ible
also means "able to be"
visible audible legible edible
💡 Both suffixes mean the same thing — the difference is purely about which one follows the spelling rules for that root word.
📖 Theory · The Key Rule

How to Choose the Right Suffix

–able
If the root is a complete word on its own → usually use –able
comfortable predictable fashionable reasonable dependable noticeable changeable believable
comfort ✓ · predict ✓ · fashion ✓ · notice ✓ — all real words!
–ible
If the root is NOT a complete word → usually use –ible
visible horrible terrible possible responsible flexible sensible accessible
vis ✗ · horr ✗ · terr ✗ · poss ✗ — not real words!
⚠️ Watch out! Some words break the rule: sensible (sense is a word → should be –able but it's –ible!). Learn the exceptions by heart: sensible, responsible, flexible, accessible, digestible, reversible.
📖 Theory · Word Families

Key Words to Know

–able words
adorablecomfortable reasonabledependable fashionableenjoyable predictablenoticeable believablevaluable changeablemanageable agreeabledeplorable
–ible words
visiblehorrible terriblepossible responsiblereversible flexiblesensible accessibleaudible legiblecredible edibleeligible irresistibleinvincible
Question 1 of 10
Choose the correct spelling
Which is the correct spelling of the adjective meaning "extremely loveable and cute"?
adorible
adorable
adoreable
adourable
Question 2 of 10
Apply the rule
The stars were clearly            on the clear night. Which spelling is correct?
visable
viseable
visible
visibel
Question 3 of 10
Spell it correctly
Complete the word: comfort______
Hint: "comfort" is a complete word — which suffix does that suggest?
comfort
Question 4 of 10
Apply the key rule
The word "horr" is not a real English word. So the adjective meaning "very unpleasant" should be spelt…?
horrable — root + able
horrible — root + ible
horruble — neither!
horeable — root + eable
Question 5 of 10
Multi-select — tick all correct
Tap all the words that are correctly spelt –able words.
predictable
enjoyible
fashionable
reasonible
noticeable
valueable
Question 6 of 10
Sort the words
Tap a word to select it, then tap the correct bucket to sort it into –able or –ible.
terrible
dependable
edible
changeable
legible
believable

–able

–ible

Question 7 of 10
Spell from the definition
Spell the word that means "having a duty to deal with something". It is a known exception — the root "response" is a real word, but we still use –ible.
Question 8 of 10
Tricky –able spelling
When we add –able to a word ending in –ce or –ge, we keep the silent 'e' to preserve the soft sound. Which is correct?
noticable — drop the e, add –able
noticeable — keep the e, add –able
noticible — use –ible
noteiceable — change the base
Question 9 of 10
Proofreading challenge
Tap all the words that are incorrectly spelt.
irresistible
flexable
credible
manageible
deplorable
sensable
Question 10 of 10
Final challenge — sentences
Which sentence uses correct –able / –ible spellings throughout?
The scientist found an incredable but credable solution that was both accessable and reversable.
The scientist found an incredible but credible solution that was both accessible and reversible.
The scientist found an incredible but credable solution that was both accessible and reversable.
The scientist found an incredibel but credibel solution that was both accessable and reversible.
🏁 Results

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