KeyStage

Years 5 and 6 English · Key Stage 2 · Spelling – English Appendix 1

Years 5 and 6 spelling: -able, -ible, -ably and -ibly

Adorable or adorible, possable or possible? The endings -able and -ible sound almost the same, and so do their adverb forms -ably and -ibly. In Years 5 and 6 children learn that -able is much the more common ending, learn clues that help them choose, learn to keep the e after c and g (noticeable, changeable), and learn how to turn the adjectives into adverbs.

Endings -able, -ible, -ably, -ibly, explained

The unstressed ending in words like reliable and horrible sounds the same whichever way it is spelt. Children cannot rely on their ear, and this is where a few clear clues come in. The first thing to say is that -able is far more common. Most new words that are formed with this ending use -able, which is a good reason to choose it when in doubt, but only after trying the clues below.

The main clue for -able is whether a complete root word can be heard before the ending. Depend is a word, so dependable. Comfort is a word, so comfortable. Enjoy is a word, so enjoyable, and rely changes its y to an i to give reliable. A second clue is a related word ending in -ation: adore and adoration give adorable, consider and consideration give considerable, and apply and application give applicable. If the root ends in -ce or -ge, the e is kept so the c or g stays soft: noticeable, changeable, manageable. Without the e, notice would be read with a hard k sound, so the e does real work.

By contrast, -ible is usually found where no complete root word is heard. Poss, horr, terr and vis are not words, so we get possible, horrible, terrible and visible. Incredible, edible and responsible follow the same pattern. There are far fewer -ible words, so many teachers encourage children to learn them as a short list. The guidance is honest that the clue does not always work: in sensible, flexible and accessible a whole word (sense, flex, access) can be heard, yet the ending is -ible.

The adverb forms follow neatly from the adjectives. To change -able into -ably, or -ible into -ibly, drop the final e and add y, keeping the a or the i. Adorable becomes adorably, reliable becomes reliably, possible becomes possibly, horrible becomes horribly and visible becomes visibly. So if your child knows the adjective, they already know the adverb, and the other way round.

Schools usually teach the clues, collect examples in sorting activities, and revisit the -ible list over the year. Spelling is assessed in the national test in May of Year 6 and, more importantly, in every piece of writing, so it is worth keeping the words you use at home in mind: the ones that come up in conversation are the ones that stick.

Words your child will hear

Suffix
Letters added to the end of a word, such as -able or -ibly.
Root word
The basic word an ending is added to. The root of dependable is depend.
Adjective
A word that describes a noun, such as terrible or reliable.
Adverb
A word that tells you how, when or where something happens, such as terribly or reliably.
Soft c
A c that sounds like s, as in notice. It needs an e after it to keep that sound.
Soft g
A g that sounds like j, as in change. It also needs a following e to stay soft.
Word family
Words related by a shared root, such as adore, adoration and adorable.

What the National Curriculum says

In Years 5 and 6, pupils should be taught to:

  • Spell words ending in –able and –ible
  • Spell words ending in –ably and –ibly

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: choosing the ending and making the adverb

Complete each word with -able or -ible: depend___, notice___, vis___, terr___. Then write the adverb for each.

  1. Listen for a complete word before the ending. Depend is a word. Notice is a word. Vis is not a word and neither is terr.
  2. Depend is a complete word, so it takes -able: dependable.
  3. Notice is also a complete word, so it takes -able. It ends in -ce, so keep the e to stay soft: noticeable, not “noticable”.
  4. Vis and terr are not words, so they take -ible: visible and terrible.
  5. Now make adverbs. Drop the final e and add y, keeping the a or the i: dependably, noticeably, visibly, terribly.

dependable, noticeable, visible, terrible; dependably, noticeably, visibly, terribly

Common mistakes and how to help

Using -able in every word because it is the more common ending

Children meet -able first and most often, so they write “possable” or “horrable” and assume that is correct.

What helps: Say the word without its ending. If you can’t hear a whole word, such as terr or poss, it is likely to be -ible. Learn a short list of common -ible words.

Dropping the e in noticeable or changeable

Children are taught to drop a final e before a suffix beginning with a vowel, as in adore and adorable. They apply the rule where it does not belong.

What helps: Try saying “noticable” aloud. It sounds like it has a hard k. The e is there to keep the c soft. Say the same for g in changeable.

Making adverbs by adding -ly, such as “reliablely”

Most adverbs are made by adding -ly to an adjective, so children carry the habit over to words that already end in -le.

What helps: Show that the final -le simply changes to -ly. Reliable becomes reliably and terrible becomes terribly. Say them aloud and listen.

Trusting the whole-word clue every time

The clue is guidance, not a rule, so words like sensible (sense plus -ible) and accessible (access plus -ible) seem to break it, and children are thrown.

What helps: Tell your child that the clue works most of the time and that a few words just have to be learnt. Keep those few on a list and check them again each week.

How to help at home

  • Can you hear a whole word? Say a word part such as depend, comfort, poss or terr. Your child says whether a whole word is there and then picks -able or -ible. It takes seconds and builds a habit.
  • Learn a short -ible list. Write possible, horrible, terrible, visible, sensible, incredible and flexible on a card. Read it over breakfast for a week, then cover it and try to write them.
  • Turn adjectives into adverbs. Call out an adjective such as horrible and have your child make a sentence with the adverb: “The cat yowled horribly.” Check that the -le has become -ly.
  • Listen for the soft c and g. Say noticeable and then say “noticable” in a silly way. Do the same with changeable. The difference in sound shows why the e matters.
  • Hunt for them on packaging and in books. Sort the -able and -ible words your child finds on food labels, leaflets and in reading books into two columns, and spot the odd one out.

Related topics

Builds on

More on spelling – English Appendix 1

Everything in Years 5 and 6 English

Updated .