Suffixes -ible, -able worksheet - Free Printable

Sure! Let’s solve this suffix worksheet step by step.

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📌 Understanding the Task

You are given a list of root words and their meanings. You must add the correct suffix — either “-able” or “-ous/-ious” — to each root word to form a new word that matches the meaning provided.

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🔍 Key Rule:

- Use “-able” when the meaning is:
> “capable of being [root word]”

- Use “-ous” or “-ious” when the meaning is:
> “characterized by [root word]”

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Now let’s go row by row:

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✔ 1. bend → *able to bend*

→ This means “capable of being bent” → use -able
✔ Word: bendable

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✔ 2. avarice → *characterized by avarice*

→ “Characterized by greed” → use -ous
✔ Word: avaricious *(Note: “avarice” becomes “avaricious” — the “e” is dropped and “-ious” is added)*

> 💡 Tip: When adding “-ous” to words ending in “e”, often we drop the “e” and sometimes change spelling slightly (like “curious” from “curiosity”). “Avarice” → “avaricious” follows this pattern.

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✔ 3. jealousy → *characterized by jealous*

→ “Characterized by jealousy” → use -ous
✔ Word: jealous → but wait, the root is “jealousy”, so we want the adjective form.
Actually, “jealous” is already the adjective — but the meaning says “characterized by jealous” — which is a bit awkward. We should form “jealousous”? No — that’s not a word!

Wait — let’s rethink:

The root word is “jealousy”, and the meaning is “characterized by jealous” — which probably means “characterized by jealousy”. So the correct word is “jealous” — but that doesn’t use a suffix on “jealousy”.

Actually, this might be a typo or misphrasing. The intended word is likely “jealous” — but since “jealous” is already an adjective, perhaps they meant to say “characterized by jealousy” → then the word would still be “jealous” — but that doesn’t fit the suffix rule.

Let me check: Is there a word like “jealousous”? No.

Actually, the correct answer here is “jealous” — but it’s already formed. Since the root is “jealousy”, and we need to add a suffix to make a word meaning “characterized by jealousy”, the only correct word is “jealous” — which is derived from “jealousy” by dropping “y” and adding “ous”? Not quite.

Wait — better approach:

- “Jealousy” → remove “y”, add “ous” → “jealousous”? ✘ Not a real word.
- Actually, “jealous” is the correct adjective. But since the worksheet says “add a suffix”, perhaps they expect “jealous” as is — but that doesn’t add a suffix.

This one is tricky. Let’s look at the pattern:

Other examples like “curiosity” → “curious”, “mystery” → “mysterious”

So “jealousy” → “jealous” — but that’s not adding a suffix; it’s just the base adjective.

Actually, I think the worksheet may have meant to write “jealous” as the root, but wrote “jealousy”. Let’s assume it's a mistake, and the intended root is “jealous”, and the meaning is “characterized by jealous” — which is redundant.

Alternatively, perhaps they want “jealousous” — but that’s not correct.

Let’s move on and come back.

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✔ 4. microwave → *able to be microwaved*

→ “Capable of being microwaved” → use -able
✔ Word: microwaveable

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✔ 5. fame → *characterized by fame*

→ “Characterized by fame” → use -ous
✔ Word: famous

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✔ 6. inflate → *able to be inflated*

→ “Capable of being inflated” → use -able
✔ Word: inflatable

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✔ 7. nerve → *characterized by nerves*

→ “Characterized by nerve” (meaning boldness) → use -ous
✔ Word: nervous

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✔ 8. curiosity → *characterized by curiosity*

→ “Characterized by curiosity” → use -ous
✔ Word: curious

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✔ 9. enjoy → *able to be enjoyed*

→ “Capable of being enjoyed” → use -able
✔ Word: enjoyable

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✔ 10. relate → *able to be related*

→ “Capable of being related” → use -able
✔ Word: relatable

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✔ 11. mystery → *characterized by mystery*

→ “Characterized by mystery” → use -ous
✔ Word: mysterious

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🔄 Now Back to #3: jealousy

Given the pattern, and since “jealousy” → “jealous” is the adjective, but “jealous” doesn’t end in “-ous” — wait, actually, “jealous” does end in “-ous” sound? No, it ends in “-ous” visually? Let’s spell it: J-E-A-L-O-U-S → yes! “jealous” ends in “-ous”.

So, even though the root is “jealousy”, the word formed is “jealous”, which uses the suffix “-ous” (by dropping the “y” and adding “ous”).

✔ So: jealousy → jealous (drop “y”, add “ous”) → “jealous”

Even though it looks like no suffix was added, technically, we’re replacing “y” with “ous”, which is a common suffixation pattern.

So final answer for #3: jealous

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## ✔ Final Answers:

| ROOT WORD | MEANING | WORD |
|-------------|--------------------------------|---------------|
| bend | able to bend | bendable |
| avarice | characterized by avarice | avaricious|
| jealousy | characterized by jealous | jealous |
| microwave | able to be microwaved | microwaveable |
| fame | characterized by fame | famous |
| inflate | able to be inflated | inflatable|
| nerve | characterized by nerves | nervous |
| curiosity | characterized by curiosity | curious |
| enjoy | able to be enjoyed | enjoyable |
| relate | able to be related | relatable |
| mystery | characterized by mystery | mysterious|

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## 🧠 Bonus Tips:

- -able = can be done / capable of
- e.g., break → breakable, read → readable
- -ous / -ious = full of, having the quality of
- e.g., danger → dangerous, glory → glorious, mystery → mysterious

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✔ All done! You’ve successfully completed the suffix worksheet. Great job!