Eugene Peretz

Some more Word Practice:

Let’s make adjectives with –able and with –ive

What do Words with the Suffix -able mean?

Words with –able as a suffix mean that something can be done.

For instance forgettable means that something is easy to forget.

Quantifiable means that something can easily be put into numbers (quant means amount in Latin).

Suitable means that something suits (fits).

Reliable means that you can rely on someone/something. They do what they say, they don’t break down or give you rubbish.

Arguable means that people can argue about it = it’s not a clear-cut thing.

Replaceable (take note of the e after the c) means something/someone can be replaced.

Legible means that it can be read. This comes from a Latin root too: legunt in Latin means read.

Capable: when someone can do a job.

What do Words with -ive Mean?

Words with –ive mean that they have this feature.

Repetitive means that something is repeated.

Informative is when something gives information (= informs).

Comparative means when something is compared.

Active: you know what this means.

Attractive: when something attracts.

Exercise

Use one of the adjectives from above.

You can do this exercise online here.

1 His handwriting is easy to read.

His handwriting is _________________.

2 This brochure gives lots of useful information.

This brochure is _________________.

3 Wow, Ismail looks so good!

He’s ______________.

4 Francis isn’t the kind of person you need to tell things twice.

He’s very ______________.

5 Gaia got a stress injury because she made the same movements all the time.

The movements she made were ______________.

6 We’ll need to know whether your proposals can be measured in numbers.

We’ll need to know whether your proposals are ______________.

7 Not everybody agrees about what is more important: love or health.

Whether love or health is more important is _____________.

8 Don’t worry, you can leave your job and we’ll just find another superstar.

Everybody is _____________.

9 Rosie is such a great person, but she has trouble finding a partner she likes.

She has trouble finding someone ____________.

10 I wonder whether something is wrong with our tortoise, because he doesn’t move a lot.

Our tortoise isn’t very _____________.