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

Words Ending in
–ably & –ibly

Master the adverb forms of –able and –ible words — using the same root-word rule you already know!

👁️ Visual 🖐️ Kinesthetic 👂 Auditory
–ably
or?
–ibly
📋 Learning Objectives

What You Will Learn

1
Understand that –ably and –ibly are adverb suffixes formed from –able and –ible adjectives.
2
Apply the root-word rule: complete root → –ably; incomplete root → –ibly (the same rule as for –able / –ible).
3
Spell a range of common –ably words correctly, including noticeably and changeably.
4
Spell a range of common –ibly words correctly and recognise key exceptions such as sensibly and responsibly.
5
Identify and correct misspellings of –ably / –ibly words in sentences.
📖 Theory 1 of 3 · From Adjective to Adverb

How –ably and –ibly Are Formed

–ably and –ibly are adverb suffixes. They are formed simply by changing the –e at the end of an –able or –ible word to –y. The adverb means "in a(n) [adjective] way".
comfortable→comfortably
adorable→adorably
predictable→predictably
fashionable→fashionably
visible→visibly
horrible→horribly
terrible→terribly
possible→possibly
⚠️ Pattern: –able → –ably  |  –ible → –ibly. You just swap –le for –ly. The hard part is knowing whether the word uses –able or –ible in the first place!
📖 Theory 2 of 3 · The Key Rule

Which Suffix? — The Same Rule as Before

The rule is identical to the –able / –ible rule:
✅ Root is a complete word → use –ably  |  ✅ Root is not a word → use –ibly
–ably
adorably comfortably reasonably dependably fashionably enjoyably predictably noticeably believably changeably manageably remarkably
adore ✓ · comfort ✓ · reason ✓ · notice ✓ — all real words!
–ibly
visibly horribly terribly possibly audibly legibly credibly edibly forcibly eligibly irresistibly invincibly
vis ✗ · horr ✗ · terr ✗ · poss ✗ — not real words!
📖 Theory 3 of 3 · Exceptions & Tricky Cases

Watch Out for These!

⚠️ Some words break the rule — the root is a real word, but we use –ibly anyway. These are the same exceptions as in –able / –ible and must be learnt by heart.
AdjectiveAdverbWhy it's an exception
sensiblesensibly"sense" is a real word, but we still use –ible / –ibly
responsibleresponsibly"response" is a real word, but we still use –ible / –ibly
flexibleflexibly"flex" is a real word, but we still use –ible / –ibly
accessibleaccessibly"access" is a real word, but we still use –ible / –ibly
reversiblereversibly"reverse" is a real word, but we still use –ible / –ibly
🌟 Soft-c and soft-g words keep the silent e:
notice → noticeable → noticeably  ·  change → changeable → changeably
manage → manageable → manageably
Question 1 of 10
Choose the correct spelling
Which is the correctly spelt adverb meaning "in a terrible way"?
terrably
terribly
terribly
terribley
Question 2 of 10
Form the adverb
What is the adverb form of the adjective "fashionable"?
fashionibly
fashionabley
fashionably
fashionebly
Question 3 of 10
Spell the adverb
The adjective "visible" uses –ible. Type the adverb form below.

Hint: the root "vis" is not a complete English word.

visible →
Question 4 of 10
Spelling in context
Which sentence contains the correctly spelt adverb?
She behaved responsably throughout the entire trip.
She behaved responsibley throughout the entire trip.
She behaved responsibly throughout the entire trip.
She behaved responsibbly throughout the entire trip.
Question 5 of 10
Sort the adverbs
Tap a word to select it, then tap the correct bucket to sort it into –ably or –ibly.
horribly
reasonably
possibly
dependably
credibly
enjoyably

–ably

–ibly

Question 6 of 10
Multi-select
Tap all the words that are correctly spelt –ibly adverbs.
audibly
legably
sensibly
flexably
forcibly
irresistibly
Question 7 of 10
Exceptions
Which adverb is a known exception — where the root is a complete English word, yet the word still uses –ibly?
adorably — from "adore"
horribly — from "horr"
comfortably — from "comfort"
flexibly — from "flex"
Question 8 of 10
Spell the adverb — tricky case!
The adjective "noticeable" keeps the silent e to preserve the soft-c sound. Type the adverb form.

Remember: notice → noticeable → notice____

noticeable →
Question 9 of 10
Proofreading challenge
Tap all the words that are incorrectly spelt.
predictably
accessably
changeably
terrably
sensibly
possably
Question 10 of 10
Final challenge — all four adverbs
Which sentence has all –ably / –ibly adverbs spelt correctly?
She spoke incredably clearly, moved flexably between ideas and argued credibly throughout.
She spoke incredibly clearly, moved flexibly between ideas and argued credibly throughout.
She spoke incredibly clearly, moved flexably between ideas and argued credably throughout.
She spoke incredibley clearly, moved flexibly between ideas and argued credibly throughout.
🏁 Results

Lesson Complete!

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