The doubling rule
If a word has a short vowel followed by one consonant, double the consonant before adding a suffix that starts with a vowel (-ing, -ed, -er, -est, -y):
| Base word | + suffix |
|---|---|
| hop | hopping, hopped |
| run | running, runner |
| big | bigger, biggest |
| sun | sunny |
| stop | stopped |
Compare: hope → hoping (long vowel, drop the e, no doubling). Hopping is jumping on one foot; hoping is wishing!
Don’t double when…
- the word already ends in two consonants: jump → jumping, help → helped
- there are two vowels before the last letter: rain → raining, cool → cooler
Longer words: listen for the stress
- Stress on the last part: double it: begin → beginning, forget → forgotten, prefer → preferred
- Stress on the first part: don’t: visit → visited, garden → gardening, offer → offered
A British English special
Words ending in one l after a vowel always double the l: travel → travelled, cancel → cancelled, model → modelling.
Watch out! Some words simply have double letters you must learn: address, success, tomorrow (one m, two r’s).
Top tip: say the word with the suffix. If the vowel sounds short (like hop), double. If it sounds long (like hope), don’t.
👆 Spot the right spelling
Tap every word that is spelt correctly.
🔎 Double or not?1 of 5