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

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The_Ancestral_Eagle

#573863 Mon, 06 Oct 08 09:10 PM

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

The_Ancestral_Eagle

Joined on Wed, May 10 2006

Egypt

New Member (35)

I'm still searching for .. It's not an easy job , is it ?

Verbs, Vowels

Cool Breeze

#573872 Mon, 06 Oct 08 09:24 PM

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 syllable in similar words:

travelling

There are numerous cases where usage is unsettled and you have a choice:

focused / focussed

Cool Breeze

Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006

Helsinki, Finland

Senior Member (2,962)

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.- Mark Twain

British English, Vowels, Consonants, Diphthongs

CalifJim

#573876 Mon, 06 Oct 08 09:33 PM

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.

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (17,548)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Consonants

The_Ancestral_Eagle

#574044 Tue, 07 Oct 08 09:07 AM

Thanks a lot CB & CJ ..

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

But !!

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

Can the last consonant be doubled !?

2) - What is a diphthong ?

Thanks again

The_Ancestral_Eagle

British English, Consonants, Diphthongs

Cool Breeze

#574062 Tue, 07 Oct 08 11:23 AM

The_Ancestral_Eagle

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

Can the last consonant be doubled !?

2) - What is a diphthong ?

1. Why don't you believe us? Smile Nothing was said about n being an exception in British English, so it's not an exception!

2. You have the Internet at your disposal. It is replete with information. Type diphthong in a search engine and you'll get lots of answers. Here is one.

Cool Breeze

British English, Consonants, Diphthongs

CalifJim

#574255 Tue, 07 Oct 08 10:33 PM

The_Ancestral_Eagle
What 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.

CalifJim

Verbs, British English