0
Kowalski Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Quitting vs. Quiting

Hi, I have a little question here.

It's about doubling the final consonant before "-ing". Since the word "quit" consists of two vowels before the final consonant "t", doubling of the final consonant, by rules, is not required. But I wonder why "quitting" is still commonly-used, perhaps more in British contexts?

Many thanks! [H]
  

Top answer

The "u" in "quit" does not function as a vowel. "

— Khoff

  • The "u" in "quit" does not function as a vowel.
  • "
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

6 Answers
0
The "u" in "quit" does not function as a vowel. Think of it as "belonging" to the "q."
0
0
Kowalskithe word "quit" consists of two vowels before the final consonant "t",
No. That's a special case. After q the u counts as a consonant, not a vowel.

CJ
0
0
Thanks mates. But how many more special cases like this are out there, if there isn't a rule distinguishing whehter a vowel following another letter should be treated as a consonant...
0
0
Kowalski how many more special cases like this are out there
I wouldn't say that there are no other special cases like this, but I certainly can't think of any. It seems that "qu" is a one-of-a-kind special case.

CJ
0
0
maybe some cases with "gu"
0
0
Anonymousmaybe some cases with "gu"
I thought of that. I even went through the "gu" section of a dictionary looking for examples like "quit", but I found none.

The closest is "guess", but that already has a double s, so it doesn't fit the required pattern.

If there were a word in English like "guep", for example, either with a silent
0

Related Questions