What Are The Main Spelling Rules For Double Letters?
The most useful is probably the vowel + consonant rule (for one-syllable words.) If a word ends in a single short vowel, followed by a consonant, the consonant is doubled when a suffix (ending) is added: shop – shopping fit – fitter plan – planned This doesn’t happen if you have two vowels: leap – leaping plain – plainer or a final “e” after the consonant: hope – hoped line – lining There are some letters which are never doubled, no matter how the word is spelt. These are: “v” (except in “revving” which isn’t a real word) “w” “x” and “y”. “K” is possible but very rare (“trekking.”) However, this only applies to one-syllable words. With longer words, the best way is to think about how the word is pronounced; mostly, you double the letter where the word is stressed. For instance: OFFering HAPPening, but begINNing preferring There are many exceptions to this rule ( the main one is “l”, which in UK English is always doubled in a prefix, as in “quarrelled”), but it generally works.
