B. Foundations of Language · Spelling, Grammar and PunctuationTricky Suffixes: -able or -ible? -ant or -ent?
B2.1About 40 minutes
Learning goals- I can choose between -able and -ible using the base-word clue.
- I can make the right spelling change when I add -able (drop e, keep e, change y to i).
- I can use a word family to choose -ant/-ance or -ent/-ence.
- I can use the soft and hard c and g clue to spell words like innocent and significant.
Words to know
suffix
A word part added to the end of a base or root, like -able or -ence.
base word
A word that can stand alone, like read in readable.
word family
A group of words built from the same base or root, like patient, patience, patiently.
soft c / soft g
A c that says /s/ (as in city) or a g that says /j/ (as in giant).
hard c / hard g
A c that says /k/ (as in cat) or a g that says /g/ (as in go).
Remember from Grade 4
In Grade 4 you used suffixes like -tion, -sion, -ive, -ous and -ian, and you met -ible as a suffix that means can be. You used three spelling rules for suffixes: double the last consonant, drop the e, and change y to i.
In Grade 5 you'll tackle some of the trickiest endings in English. -able and -ible sound almost the same. So do -ant and -ent, and -ance and -ence. You can't hear the difference, so you need clues.
-able or -ible?
Both suffixes mean able to be or can be: readable = can be read; visible = can be seen.
Clue: Is there a whole base word?
- If you take off the suffix and a complete word is left, the ending is usually -able: read + able = readable, wash + able = washable, break + able = breakable, comfort + able = comfortable.
- If what's left is not a word by itself (a root), the ending is usually -ible: vis + ible = visible, ed + ible = edible, poss + ible = possible, leg + ible = legible.
This clue works most of the time. A few words break it (sensible, flexible), so if you're not sure, check a dictionary.
| Base word + -able | Root (not a word) + -ible |
|---|
| readable, washable, breakable | visible (vis = see) |
| comfortable, enjoyable, dependable | audible (aud = hear) |
| affordable, remarkable, predictable | edible, possible, legible, horrible |
Spelling changes with -able
- Drop the silent e: love → lovable, use → usable, believe → believable.
- But keep the e after a soft c or g, so the c still says /s/ and the g still says /j/: notice → noticeable, change → changeable, manage → manageable. (Without the e, noticable would look like it should be said /no-tih-KAB-ul/!)
- Change y to i after a consonant: rely → reliable, envy → enviable.
Worked exampleLet's spell /NOH-tis-uh-bul/
Spell the word that means can be noticed, as in There was a ______ change in the weather.
- Base word: notice. It's a whole word, so use -able.
- notice ends in a silent e. Usually we drop it before -able...
- ...but the c says /s/ here (soft c). If we drop the e, the c would sound hard, like /k/. So keep the e.
- notice + able = noticeable.
noticeable (n-o-t-i-c-e-a-b-l-e).
-ant or -ent? -ance or -ence?
These endings make describing words (important, different) and naming words (importance, difference). Two clues help.
Clue 1: Families stick together. If you know one word in the family, the others use the same vowel:
- important → importance
- distant → distance
- different → difference
- patient → patience
- silent → silence
- urgent → urgency
Clue 2: Soft or hard c and g. Right after a soft c (/s/) or soft g (/j/), use e: innocent, magnificent, intelligent, urgent, emergency. Right after a hard c (/k/) or hard g (/g/), use a: significant, vacant, elegant. That's because the letter e keeps c and g soft, and a keeps them hard.
| -ant / -ance / -ancy | -ent / -ence / -ency |
|---|
| important, importance | different, difference |
| distant, distance | patient, patience |
| vacant, vacancy (hard c) | innocent, innocence (soft c) |
| elegant, elegance (hard g) | intelligent, intelligence (soft g) |
Worked exampleLet's spell /kon-fih-dense/
Spell the word in She skated with ______ at the competition. (the noun for being sure of yourself)
- Think of a word in the same family: confident. Do you know how to spell it? confident.
- Families keep the same vowel, so the noun is -ence.
- confid + ence = confidence.
Just for funIs this joke laughable or laughible?
It's laughable! Laugh is a whole word, so it takes -able. (Whether it's actually funny is a different question.)
Circle and check
When you finish a draft, circle every word ending in -able, -ible, -ant, -ent, -ance or -ence. Check each one with a clue or a dictionary. These endings are some of the most common spelling mistakes, even for adults!
Hands-on activitySuffix sort and memory cards
You need: 12 small pieces of paper or index cards, and a pencil.
- On 6 cards, write base words: wash, comfort, enjoy, love, rely, change.
- On the other 6 cards, write: vis, aud, ed, poss, leg, horr.
- Mix them up. Pick a card and say which ending it needs: -able or -ible. Write the whole word on the back. Watch out for the spelling changes!
- Check with a grown-up or a dictionary.
- Bonus: make a family chain on a strip of paper: patient → patience → patiently. Make three more chains (try different, distant, silent).
Your turn
1Add the suffix that means can be: wash___
washable (wash is a whole word, so -able).
2Add the suffix that means can be: vis___
visible (vis isn't a word on its own, so -ible).
4Add -able to change. Why is the e kept?
changeable. The g is soft (/j/). Keeping the e keeps it soft.
reliable (change y to i after a consonant).
6Write the noun: important → ?
importance (same vowel: a).
7Choose: differant or different?
different. Think of the family word difference.
More practice: warm-up
1What do -able and -ible mean?
4Write the noun: patient → ?
5Write the noun: silent → ?
More practice: on your own
1Spell the word that means can be eaten: /ED-ih-bul/. Explain.
edible. ed is not a word by itself, so the ending is usually -ible.
2Add -able to believe. Explain.
believable. The v isn't a soft c or g, so drop the e.
3Choose: innocant or innocent? Explain using the c clue.
innocent. The c says /s/ (soft), and soft c is followed by e.
4Choose: significent or significant? Explain.
significant. The c says /k/ (hard), and hard c is followed by a.
5Write the adjective: distance → ? Then use it in a sentence.
distant. Example: We could see the distant lights of Sudbury.
Challenge
1Explain why manageable keeps its e but lovable doesn't.
In manage, the g says /j/. Dropping the e would make it look hard (managable), so we keep the e. In love, the v doesn't change its sound, so we drop the e: lovable.
2Find and fix the three suffix mistakes: It was incredable how patiance and confidance helped our team.
incredible (cred is a root, not a word, so -ible), patience (family: patient), confidence (family: confident). It was incredible how patience and confidence helped our team.
3Intelligence and elegance both end in /unce/. Explain why one uses -ence and the other -ance.
intelligence: the g before the ending is soft (/j/), so it needs e. elegance: the g is hard (/g/), so it needs a. (Their family words agree: intelligent, elegant.)
Quiz
1. Which word is spelled correctly?
2. Which word is spelled correctly?
4. Which is the noun for different?
5. Which word is spelled correctly?
6. Why is magnificent spelled with -ent?
Big idea (B2.1): Grade 5 students use generalized knowledge of morphemes to spell. -able/-ible and -ant/-ent (and -ance/-ence) are hard because the vowel is unstressed: you can't hear it. The strategies here (base-word clue, word-family clue, soft/hard c and g) turn guessing into reasoning.
How to help at home:
- When your child misspells -ence/-ance, ask: "Do you know another word in the family?"
- Play Can it be ___?: "Can it be washed? Washable!"
- Encourage dictionary checks. These endings trip up adult writers too.
Common difficulties:
- Dropping the e in noticeable, changeable. Say the misspelled version aloud with a hard sound to show why the e matters.
- Overgeneralizing the base-word clue. It's a tendency, not a law (sensible, flexible).
- Mixing up families (importent). Link to the noun the child knows best.