Spelling rule double consonant

Doubling the final consonant before adding –ed or –ing

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When do you double the consonant at the end of a verb, before adding –ed or –ing? — Pasam G, Tanzania

Answer

SPELLING RULES FOR VERBS WITH -ING AND -ED ENDINGS

When a verb ends in a consonant, sometimes the consonant is doubled before adding the –ed or –ing ending, like this:

stop --> stopped, stopping

Lucy stopped the car.
Why was Lucy stopping the car?

And sometimes the final consonant is not doubled, like this:

shift --> shifted, shifting

Sandy shifted the gears.
Sandy was shifting the gears too much.

To know when to double the final consonant, follow the rules below.

RULES

In a word with 1 syllable, double the final consonant ONLY if the word ends in 1 vowel + 1 consonant.
In a word with 2 or more syllables, double the final consonant ONLY if the word ends in 1 vowel + 1 consonant AND the final syllable is stressed.
At the end of a word, don’t count w, x, or y as a consonant.

APPLYING THE RULES

These verbs get a doubled final consonant:

tip / He tipped the waiter. /He isn't tipping the waiter.
cram / The students crammed for the test. /The students were cramming for the test.
regret / Carl regretted the things he had said. /Carl was regretting the things he had said.

These verbs do not get a doubled final consonant:

vote --> voted, voting (vote ends in a vowel)
instruct --> instructed, instructing (instruct ends in 2 consonants)
listen --> listened, listening (listen has 2 syllables and the final syllable is not stressed)

Spelling rules: doubling up

There are so many spelling rules and it can be difficult to remember them all when you are learning English (and even if you do remember the rule, sometimes it doesn’t always apply, for instance the ‘I before E rule’). However, the doubling rule, or the 1-1-1 rule works in every instance.

The spelling rule

The spelling rule is: if the word has 1 syllable (a word with one vowel sound), 1 vowel and it ends in 1 consonant, you double the final consonant before you add ‘ing’, ‘ed’, ‘er’, ‘est’ (also known as a suffixal vowel). You don’t double the consonant if the word ends in ‘tion’ (also known as a suffixal consonant).

So, if the word has:

- 1 syllable

- 1 vowel

- 1 consonant, which follows the vowel

You double up the last consonant, to make a suffixal vowel (running/ runner, jogging, stopping/stopped).

For example: The word ‘run’

- It has 1 syllable

- It has 1 vowel – ‘u’

- And it has 1 consonant that follows the vowel – ‘n’

In this instance, you double the last consonant to make the word ‘running’.

More examples:

Run = Running
Stop = Stopping/Stopped
Big = Bigger
Quiz = Quizzes
Fat = Fatter/ Fattest

Words that have more than one consonant after the vowel don’t double, e.g. ‘lift’ has two consonants ‘f’ and ‘t’, so you don’t double the last consonant, instead you just add the suffixal vowel: ‘lifting’.

For words that have a long ‘e’ vowel on the end, for example grade, slide, hate, you drop the ‘e’ before adding ‘ing’ or ‘ed’, without doubling the last consonant. E.g. Grade becomes ‘grading’ or ‘graded’.

Words with more than one syllable

The doubling rule can also be used for words with more than one syllable, however these words must end in a single consonant and the primary stress must be on the final syllable.

So, if the word has:

- More than 1 syllable

- Ends in 1 consonant

- The final consonant follows a vowel, and that vowel is bearing primary stress

You double up the last consonant, to make a suffixal vowel. Just like with a single syllable word, you don’t double the last consonant for a suffixal consonant.

For example: The word ‘begin’

- It has more than 1 syllable (2 syallables – be-gin)

- It has 1 vowel that bears the primary stress – ‘i’

- And it has 1 consonant that follows the primary stress bearing vowel, in this instance – ‘n’

In this instance, you double the last consonant to make the word ‘beginning’.

More examples:

Control = Controlling/Controlled
Regret = Regretting/Regretted

However, if the primary stress is not on the last syllable then you do not double the consonant. E.g. ‘open’ becomes ‘opening’.

Double consonants in the root of the word (50 examples)

Double consonants in the root are written in some native Russian and many borrowed words. Let us consider in more detail when double consonants are written at the root of words.

Double consonants in native Russian words

In Russian, native Russian words contain identical consonants. At the root of a number of lexemes and words derived from them, double consonants are written "zhzh" :

reins, yeast, juniper, juniper, buzz, buzz;
in formations from the verb burn - burned, burnt, burns, burning.

These spellings should be distinguished from words in which the combination of consonants "зж" is written, which sounds like a long [ zh ']:

m' ]

At the root of these words there is an alternation of combinations of consonants "zg" and "zzh" :

grumble - grumble;
squeal - squeal;
brain - cerebellum;
rattling - rattling.

Double consonants "ss" are traditionally written in the roots of the words "quarrel", "quarrel", "Russia", "Russian", "Russian" and other related words.

Note that if the stem of the generating word has double consonants, then in the derived word before the suffix, double consonants are preserved:

group - group, group, group;
telegram - telegram;
program - program, program, program, programmer;
compromise - uncompromising, uncompromising.

Writing double consonants in compound words

One consonant is written in the first part of compound words formed from a root with double consonants:

military commissar - military commissar;
group organizer - grouporg;
gramophone record - gramophone record;
correspondent point - correspondent office.

In Russian, double consonants are written in compound words at the junction of roots, if the first part of the word ends and the second begins with the same consonant, for example: double consonants are preserved before a hyphen:

Press Conference
Press Form
Press center
MASS-spectrometer

Exceptions to the Wedial Consonants

Exceptions 9000------- rules for writing double consonants at the root of a word.

The word "crystal" and all its derivatives have double consonants "l" :

crystal, crystalline, crystallize,

but

crystal, crystal, crystal, crystal

Let's continue this list of exception words:

operetta - operetta, operetta;
column, colonnade - column, gasoline, water dispenser;
semolina (groats), mannik - semolina;
Finns - Finnish, Finnish, Finland;
ton, tonnage, multi-ton - three-ton, one and a half tons;
antenna - antenna, antenna operator.

Double consonants in borrowed words

In words borrowed from other languages, the spelling of double consonants is fundamentally memorized, for example: , symmetry, platform, rack, spring, tennis, trolleybus.

In case of difficulty, ask about their spelling in the spelling dictionary.

Note that when borrowing in some foreign words, the double spelling of consonants is “lost” ( address, attribute, dessert, corridor , etc.).

It should be remembered that in Russian in these widespread borrowed words only one consonant is written in the root:

address, aluminum, actress, attribute, scam, balustrade, business, gallery, biscuit, humanism, haberdashery, dessert, imitation , impresario, calorie, cavalry, caricature, corridor, privilege, producer, pudding, race, racist, cigarette etc.

Words of foreign origin are unchecked. Their spelling is determined by the dictionary.

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Words with double consonants are quite common in Russian - they can be both borrowings and native Russian words. The double consonant is used not only at the root, but also at the junction of morphemes. There are certain spelling rules that govern the use of doubled consonants. These rules are taught in 4th grade.

Double consonants in the roots of native Russian words

In such words, only two consonants can be doubled - these are s and zh, that is, in the root you can find only two combinations - ss and zhzh, while there are quite a few such words.

So, with doubles in the word quarrel and its derivatives, as well as in the names of the states of Russia and Belarus and those that originated from them.

Double w is used in words such as reins, yeast, juniper, buzz and words (word forms) that are formed from them.

Despite the fact that the verb to burn is written with one j, in many words derived from it this letter is doubled - burning, burning, and so on.

Double consonants in the roots of loanwords

In such lexical units, double consonants are most common, and absolutely any letter can be doubled. In this case, it is impossible to pick up any rule, the spelling of such words will simply have to be remembered. Like other words with unchecked spellings, these are classified as dictionary words, meaning that if in doubt, the spelling can be checked in a dictionary. Certificate, ballad, illusion - all these are borrowed words in which consonants were doubled initially.

Doubled consonants at the junction of morphemes

Such cases in Russian are not uncommon - for example, when the prefix ends with a consonant, and the root begins with it, and these consonants are the same: bes+disputable=indisputable, etc.

Difficulties often arise in such cases. For example, if a word is formed from the root account, to which the prefix ras is added, then it is written with double s, but it is important not to confuse with words formed with the same prefix, but from a different root - even.

Also in Russian there are many suffixes with a doubled consonant, and doubling may occur at the junction of the root and the suffix. Here is an example of the latter case: sailor + ck - sailor .

Complex cases of consonant doubling

Moreover, if he speaks of words that are formed by the method of reduction, then if the first base has a double consonant, it is cut off, as, for example, in the word gramophone record.

If a word with a diminutive value is formed from a word with double consonants, the doubling is retained: group - group and so on. Also, double consonants before the suffix are usually preserved in other cases: compromise - compromise , although there are exceptions: crystal, but crystal .