1.3.9

Words Ending in '-ible' & '-ibly'

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Words Ending in '-ible' and '-ibly'

There are only a few words that end with the suffixes '-ible' and '-ibly'.

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'-ible' or '-ibly'

  • We often use '-ible' or '-ibly' as the ending if we cannot hear the full root word at the start of the word.
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Exception

  • Two exceptions to this rule are 'sensible' and 'sensibly'.
  • 'Sensible' and 'sensibly' are exceptions because you can hear the full root word 'sense'.
    • But, even if we hear 'sense', we use the suffixes '-ible' and '-ibly'.
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Examples

  • 'Poss' is not a full root word, so we use '-ible' or '-ibly'.
    • 'possible'
    • 'possibly'
  • 'Horr' is not a full root word, so we use '-ible' or '-ibly'.
    • 'horrible'
    • 'horribly'
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More examples

  • 'Terr' is not a full root word, so we use '-ible' or '-ibly'.
    • 'terrible'
    • 'terribly'
  • 'Incred' is not a full root word, so we use '-ible' or '-ibly'.
    • 'incredible'
    • 'incredibly'

Jump to other topics

1Reading

1.1Reading

1.2Prefixes

1.3Suffixes

1.4Spelling Rules

1.5Reading Comprehension

1.6Reading Comprehension: SAT Practise

1.7Word Meaning

1.8Fact vs. Opinion

1.9Justifying Views

1.10Figurative Language

1.11Text Structure

2Writing

2.1Sounds in Words

2.2Homophones

2.3Using a Dictionary

2.4Writing Composition

2.5The Subjunctive Mood

2.6Modal Verbs

2.7Active & Passive Voice

2.8Relative Clauses

2.9Expanded Nouns

2.10Punctuation

2.11SAT Spelling Practise

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