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Hello!
大家好!
This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about how to use “-able” and “-ible” suffixes.
本周《名师答疑》，我们回答如何使用-able和-ible后缀的问题。
Hello teacher!
老师您好！
I am Md. Abdur Rahman from Bangladesh.
我是来自孟加拉国的阿卜杜勒·拉赫曼。
I am a student and have been learning English for a long time.
我是一名学生，已经学了很长时间的英语。
To improve my listening and speaking skills every night I listen to the VOA English podcast.
为了提高我的听说能力，我每天晚上都收听美国之音的英语播客。
However, I am not good at English spelling mainly when I write sentences.
但是我不擅长英语拼写，主要是在写句子的时候。
I feel confused over suffixes like “-able” vs “-ible.”
我一直分不清-able和-ible这样的后缀。
How can I be an expert in English spelling?
我怎样才能精通英语拼写呢？
Please help me and share your valuable suggestions.
请帮帮我，并分享您的宝贵建议。
Sincerely yours, Md. Abdur Rahman.
您诚挚的，阿卜杜勒·拉赫曼。
Thank you, Abdur Rahman for writing to us.
感谢阿卜杜勒·拉赫曼的来信。
English spelling is difficult even for native speakers.
即使对英语母语者来说，英语拼写也很难。
The English writing system is old, and it does not match up with how we pronounce things now.
英语书写系统很古老，和我们现在的发音方式并不匹配。
But there are “rules” and methods we can use that might help improve our spelling ability.
但是有一些“规则”和方法可以帮助我们提高拼写能力。
We add the suffixes “-able” and “-ible” to the ends of words to create an adjective meaning “able to,” for example, “fixable.”
在词尾加上后缀-able和-ible可以构成形容词，意思是“能够”，例如“可修复的”。
I broke the coffee pot. Do you think it’s fixable?
我把咖啡壶打碎了，你觉得还能修好吗？
We pronounce both endings with a “schwa.”
这两个词缀的发音中都有“非重读元音”。
It is used in expressing unstressed central vowels, like in the word visible.
表示非重读的位于中间的元音，比如单词visible中第二个i的发音。
If you drive out to the countryside, the stars are even more visible!
如果你开车去乡下，星星就看得更清楚了！
The ending “-able” is more common because it is considered a “living” suffix.
以-able结尾更常见，因为它被认为是“活的”后缀。
This means that we can create new words with it.
表示我们可以用它创造新词。
We do not use the suffix “-ible” to make new words because it is used for Latin-based words.
我们不用后缀-ible来构成新词，因为它是用在来自拉丁语的单词中的。
And there are no new Latin words, as it is now a dead language with no native speakers.
而现在没有新的拉丁语单词，因为拉丁语是一种没有母语者的死去的语言。
While there are always exceptions to spelling rules in English, we do have a few rules that can help us figure out which spelling to use.
虽然英语中的拼写规则总是有例外，但有一些规则确实可以帮助我们弄明白该用哪种拼写。
Let’s start with “-able.”
让我们从-able开始。
We add “-able” to full words, often dropping an “e” in the process.
我们在完整的单词后面加上-able，通常会去掉一个e。
Adorable is a good example.
“可爱的”就是一个很好的例子。
You start with the word “adore,” which means to love or like very much.
最开始是单词adore，意思是非常爱或喜欢。
Now, we drop the “e” from “adore” and put “able” in its place.
现在，把adore中的e去掉，改成able。
I saw the most adorable dog on my walk.
我在散步时看到了一只超级可爱的狗。
In this sentence, adorable could be substituted with “cute.”
在这句话中，adorable可以用cute来代替。
There are exceptions though, so watch out for words like “available” and “capable.”
但也有例外，所以要注意像available（可获得的）和capable（有能力的）这样的词。
If you take the suffix off, the roots of these words cannot stand alone.
如果去掉这两个词的后缀，它的词根是不能单独存在的。
If a word ends in a /k/ or /g/ sound, use “-able,” like the word “despicable.”
如果单词以/k/或/g/发音结尾，就要用-able，比如despicable（卑鄙的）。
Their favorite movie is “Despicable Me.”
他们最喜欢的电影是《神偷奶爸》。
Let’s move onto “-ible.”
接下来看-ible。
Remember that the number of words with “-ible” will not change because there is a limited number of words from Latin that we use with the suffix.
请记住，带有-ible的单词数量不会改变，因为使用这个后缀的拉丁语单词的数量是有限的。
Since it is not a living suffix, we cannot add it to form new words.
因为它不是一个活的后缀，所以不能通过添加这个后缀来构成新词。
Most -ible words cannot stand on their own.
大多数带有-ible的单词不能独立存在。
They need the suffix to be a word.
它们需要后缀，才能是一个单词。
For example, “possible.” “Poss” is not a word.
例如，possible（可能的）。poss就不是一个单词。
It needs the suffix “-ible” to be “possible.”
需要有后缀-ible才可能构成单词possible。
But like the suffix “-able,” there are exceptions to this rule.
但就像后缀-able一样，这条规则也有例外。
Like the word flexible. “Flex” can be a word on its own.
比如flexible（灵活的）这个词。flex本身也是一个词。
For both suffixes you should remember general spelling rules.
对于这两个后缀，你需要记住一般的拼写规则。
One rule is especially notable.
有一条规则尤其值得注意。
You should drop the “e” on the end of a word when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.
添加以元音开头的后缀时，应把单词末尾的e去掉。
For example, “likable.”
比如，likable（讨人喜欢的）。
She was very likable in high school.
她在高中的时候非常受人喜欢。
There is an exception to this rule.
这条规则有一个例外。
Do not drop the “e” when words end in “ce” or “ge.”
当单词以ce或ge结尾时，不要去掉e。
This has to do with the sounds /g/ or /s/.
这跟/g/或/s/的发音有关。
The letter “e” is needed to keep the consonant sound the same.
字母e是用来保持辅音的发音不变的。
For example: Danceable and Changeable.
例如：danceable（可以跟着跳舞的）和changeable（可更改的）。
Latin music is so danceable!
拉丁音乐很适合让人跟着跳舞！
The date is changeable for the tickets.
门票的日期是可更改的。
Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you!
请让我们知道这些解释和例子是否对你有帮助！
And that’s Ask a Teacher.
以上就是本期《名师答疑》。
I’m Faith Pirlo.
我是费思·皮尔洛。
