tion.esthe little ending with big ideasLet’s practise
HomeSpelling guidesWhen do you double the last letter?

THE SPELLING NOTEBOOK · 05

Double it
or not?

Running has two n’s, but raining has one. Three checks tell you when to double.

Try a little practice ↓

THE RULES, ONE AT A TIME

Look at the word.
Then add the ending.

double

One vowel + one consonant

hop → hopping

In short words with one vowel and one final consonant, double it.

run → running; sad → saddest; big → bigger
double

Stress on the last syllable

begin → beginning

In longer words, double only if the last syllable is stressed.

forget → forgetting; admit → admitted
no double

Stress earlier

visit → visiting

If the stress is not on the last syllable, don’t double.

open → opened; garden → gardening
no double

Two vowels or two consonants

rain → raining

Two vowels before the consonant, or two final consonants, mean no doubling.

jump → jumping; cool → cooler

Exceptions to remember

Never double w, x or y: snow → snowing, box → boxing, play → playing. A suffix starting with a consonant never causes doubling: sad → sadness. British English also doubles a final l after one vowel even without stress: travel → travelling (American English: traveling).

Word lists: -ing words · -er words · -est words

A LITTLE PRACTICE GOES A LONG WAY

Which spelling is right?

Use the rules above, then check your answers.

01 hop + ing
02 visit + ing
03 rain + ing
04 big + est
05 begin + er
06 box + ing

Teacher answer key
  1. hop + ing → hopping
  2. visit + ing → visiting
  3. rain + ing → raining
  4. big + est → biggest
  5. begin + er → beginner
  6. box + ing → boxing

A note for the grown-ups.

Rules summarised from the Department for Education’s English spelling appendix. Examples and practice are original site copy, checked against the ENABLE2K word list. Spelling rules have exceptions; check unfamiliar words in a dictionary.