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The_Ancestral_Eagle Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

::: Why not to double the last letter !!? :::

Hi , everyone ..

It's known that we double the last letter when adding the suffix (-ing) to the verb if

preceded by a vowel ..

run --------> running

swim ------------ > swimming

and so on ..

Now what about these ??

play / fix / stay / saw / know / low

[ I suppose because of x , w and z at the end !! maybe ]

And what about these as well ,

open / happen / listen

Waiting eagerly for the answer .

Best Wishes
  

Top answer

The consonant is doubled if there is a short vowel between consonants in a stressed syllable: forge tt ing, swi mm ing If the syllable is not stressed, doubling doesn't occur: targe t ing No doubling occurs if the vowel is pronounced as a diphthong: growing In British English - illogically - l is doubled even in an unstressed syllable in similar words: trave ll ing There are numerous cases where usage is unsettled and you have a choice: focused / focu ss ed CB

— Cool Breeze

  • The consonant is doubled if there is a short vowel between consonants in a stressed syllable: forge tt ing, swi mm ing If the syllable is not stressed, doubling doesn't occur: targe t ing No doubling occurs if the vowel is pronounced as a diphthong: growing In British English - illogically - l is doubled even in an unstressed syllable in similar words: trave ll ing There are numerous cases where usage is unsettled and you have a choice: focused / focu ss ed CB
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5 Answers
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The consonant is doubled if there is a short vowel between consonants in a stressed syllable:
forgetting, swimming
If the syllable is not stressed, doubling doesn't occur:
targeting
No doubling occurs if the vowel is pronounced as a diphthong:
growing
In British English - illogically - l is doubled even in an unstressed s
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See Post:104845 for the rules.

Do not treat final w or y as a consonant when applying these rules.
And x is never doubled.
CJ
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Thanks a lot CB & CJ ..

So, it's a matter of stress .. !

But !!

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The_Ancestral_Eagle
1) - What about ( happen / open ) in the British English !!?

Can the last consonant be doubled !?
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The_Ancestral_EagleWhat about ( happen / open ) in the British English !!?
I don't think they double in those, even though they double in "travelled", so I don't really know if they have a consistent rule for this kind of verb, or if it's a matter of memorizing each one separately.
CJ
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