Spelling: Double consonants

If a root word ends in a consonant, adding a suffix will sometimes require that you double the base word’s final consonant. How do you know when to double the consonant?

Consider the following examples, where doubled consonants are underlined.

Now take a look at some larger words, whose base forms have more than one syllable.

Below are the rules for doubling consonants when adding a suffix.

Rules

  1. Only double the final consonant of the root word if:
    1. the base form ends in the sequence consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) and
    2. the suffix begins with a vowel and
    3. the stress is placed on the final (or only) syllable.
  2. Otherwise don’t double the consonant.

British English Note: Treat a final r as a consonant, even if you don’t pronounce it.

Let us consider some examples to see if these rules work.

Consider suffixes starting with a vowel (e.g. -ed, -ing, -er, -est, and in this case -y).

  • ship
  • The last three letters of ship are consonant-vowel-consonant: double the final p.
    • ship + −edshipped
    • ship + −ingshipping
  • green
  • Green ends in vowel-vowel-consonant: don’t double the final n.
    • green + −ergreener
    • green + −estgreenest

    Here are some more examples. Do they match the rules we just stated?

    Spot the root word in each case.

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