Name.............................................................................................................. Class........................ Date......................
Grammar Practice
L.8.2.C
SPELLING: THE SUFFIXES -IBLE AND -ABLE
Word Bank
indelible intelligible accessible inflexible eligible
charitable durable hospitable inevitable invariable
Key Concepts
1. The suffixes -able and -ible form adjectives.
honorable contemptible
2. Many word roots change when -able or -ible is added.
rely + able = reliable
admit + ible = admissible
3. Some adjectives ending in -able or -ible have Latin, rather than English, word roots.
possible portable
EXERCISE A: Spelling Practice
Choose the word from the Word Bank that best fits each meaning. Write your choices on the lines.
1. unchanging
6. easy to reach
2. kind; generous
7. hard to erase
3. understandable
8. not avoidable
4. warmly welcoming
9. sturdy; lasting
5. unbending
10. qualified; worthy
EXERCISE B: Spelling in Context
Write the -able or -ible adjective from the Word Bank that is related to each Latin word root and set
of English words.
1. caritas, “love”: cherish, charity, uncharitably
2. eligere, “to choose”: elect, election, eligibility
3. hospes, “guest” or “host”: hospice, hospital, hospitality
4. intelligere, “to perceive”: intellect, intelligent, intelligence
5. flexus, “bent”: reflex, flex, inflexibility
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Name ___________________________________________________ Class _________ Date ____________________
Lesson 89
Building Vocabulary: Word Roots
ROOT
audi means “hear”
WORD
audible
audition
MEANING
able to be heard
tryout where a person’s talents
are displayed
bio means “life”
biology
biography
study of living things
story of a person’s life
ben means “good”
beneficial
benefit
good or positive
do something good
meter means “measure”
speedometer
chronometer
instrument for measuring speed
instrument for measuring time
port means “carry”
portable
export
able to be carried
goods sold, or carried, outside
the country
Exercise 1 In the blank, write a short definition of the italicized root. Use a dictionary
if necessary.
biosphere life
1. video see
11. flexible bend
2. attract pull or draw
12. immortal death
3. phonograph sound
13. astronomy star
4. incredible believe
14. century hundred
5. geology science
15. convention come
6. millipede thousand
16. lecture speech
7. dentist tooth
17. decade ten
8. sonic sound
18. chronicle time
9. television see
19. manual hand
10. photograph light
Vocabulary and
Spelling
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The root of a word is the part that carries the main meaning. Some roots can
stand alone. Others make little or no sense without other word parts added to
them. Knowing the meanings of roots can help you figure out the meanings of
unfamiliar words.
20. telephone distant
Unit 14, Vocabulary and Spelling
285