Doubling the Final Consonant

Doubling the Final Consonant

Doubling the Final Consonant

Many words have endings added to them. You may need to make a spelling change in the word before you add the ending. For example, you may need to double the final consonant. Suppose you are describing what a frog did. If you write hoped when you mean hopped, your readers will be confused.

hop big slam shut wet

• These words all have one syllable.

• They all end in just one consonant.

• They all have just one vowel before the final consonant.

• They all need the final consonant doubled before adding an ending like -ing, -ed, -er, -est, -y, or -ist.

Words in Which the Final Consonant is Doubled

hop+ed=hopped

big+er=bigger

slam+ed=slammed

mud+y=muddy

shut+ing=shutting

wet+est=wettest

pin+ed=pinned

drug+ist=druggist

Words in Which the Final Consonant is NOT Doubled

sweet+er=sweeter (Two vowels come before the final consonant)

jump+ed=jumped (Two consonants come at the end)

sad+ly=sadly (The ending begins with a consonant)

Multiple Choice

Which of the following words has a final consonant that needs to be doubled?

• star+y

• art+ist

• mad+ly

Open Ended

Find the misspelled word: The frog hoped into the water and made a plopping noise.

Open Ended

Find the misspelled word: Someone has been digging in the mudy pond.

Open Ended

Was Derek a winer at the track meet?

Open Ended

The cook stired the soup and added salt.

Open Ended

The trail ended, and we steped into the clearing.

Sometimes you will need to double the final consonant in a two-syllable word.

• begin

• control

• forgot

• These words all end in one consonant, have just one vowel before the final consonant, and the second syllable is accented, or spoken with greater force, than the first syllable.

Words in Which the Final Consonant is Doubled

• begin+er=beginner

• control+er=controller

• forget+ing=forgetting

• 
  

Words in Which the Final Consonant is NOT Doubled

• return+ed=returned (The final syllable, turn, ends in two consonants)

• travel+er+traveler (The final syllable is not accented)

• repeat+ed=repeated (Two vowels come before the consonant)

• forget+ful=forgetful (The ending begins with a consonant)

Multiple Select

Which is correct?

• offering

• offerring

Multiple Select

Which is correct?

• controller

• controler

Multiple Select

Which is correct?

• difference

• differrence

Multiple Select

Which is correct?

• referral

• referal

Multiple Select

Which is correct?

• equiped

• equipped

Multiple Select

Which is correct?

• beginning

• begining

Multiple Select

Which is correct?

• piloted

• pilotted

Multiple Select

Which is correct?

• forgotten

• forgoten

Multiple Select

Which is correct?

• hoter

• hotter