Suffixes -able and -ible

Read words ending in -able and -ible and know they mean 'can be'.

The suffixes '-able' and '-ible' both mean 'can be' or 'able to be'. A washable shirt can be washed. A readable note can be read. A visible star can be seen. These suffixes sound almost the same, both ending with a quick 'uh-bul', so you have to pay attention to spelling.

A helpful pattern: '-able' is more common and is often added to a complete word you can recognize, like 'enjoy' plus 'able' makes 'enjoyable'. '-ible' is often added to a part that is not a word by itself, like 'vis' in 'visible' or 'poss' in 'possible'. Read: 'The broken toy was fixable, but the tiny crack was barely visible. '

• 1-able and -ible mean 'can be'.
• 2-able often follows a whole word (enjoyable).
• 3-ible often follows a part that is not a word alone (visible).