All Questions
Tagged with double-consonant or doubled-consonants
76 questions
10
votes
3
answers
96k
views
Why is the plural of "quiz" spelled with double Z?
The plural of "quiz" is spelled with double "z" while the plural of "box" (and sometimes "bus") is spelled with a single last consonant. Why is it so? Is this the general rule to double the last ...
- 111
10
votes
2
answers
30k
views
Dropping L in compound adjectives. Is it "skillful" or "skilful"?
We have been taught at school that when a word ending in "LL" helps form a compound word, "LL" becomes "L" (e.g. skill -> skilful). I have also come across the usage of this adjective as skillful (...
- 35.9k
14
votes
5
answers
18k
views
What is the preferred plural form of "bus"?
The OED states that both "buses" and "busses" are acceptable plural forms of "bus". Is one generally preferred over the other?
- 251
6
votes
2
answers
8k
views
L versus LL in British versus US English [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When is “L” doubled?
Is there any guidance on the usage of doubled consonants, particularly L, in British versus US English? For example 'Travelled' v. 'Traveled', ...
- 591
4
votes
3
answers
13k
views
Which is correct, "summiting" or "summitting"?
This form of the word is not very common but does see some use as the present participle/gerund of "to summit" as in "Upon summit(t)ing the mountain we took photos but had to begin our descent ...
- 7,820
45
votes
1
answer
359k
views
"Canceling" or "cancelling" [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When is “L” doubled?
I'm confused about the two spellings. In which contexts do I have to use canceling or cancelling?
Google returns 15.6 million results with ...
- 713
10
votes
1
answer
13k
views
Why is "transferred" written with two R's?
Why is transferred written with two R's? I am a native speaker of Dutch, and in my point of view this isn't logical; there are other words like coloured and endeavoured that only have -ed added after ...
- 203
5
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Origins of English Double-C Pronunciations
Looking into Pronunciation of double consonants, turned up an apparent rule for pronouncing a double-C in English that seems to parallel the Italian rule for pronouncing a single C. If the "cc" is ...
user1579
3
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Why is shippable spelled with 2 p's [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the correct spelling: wrapable, or wrappable?
My mother "corrected" me and said "shouldn't shippable be spelled as shipable"? My gut feeling said two p's, but I couldn'...
- 215
4
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Pronunciation of double consonants
How do you pronounce double consonants in American English?
For example:
Daddy - Do you say "Da-di", "Dad-di" or "Dad-i"?
Mommy - Do you say "Ma-mi", "Mam-mi" or "Mam-i"?
Swimming - "swi-ming", "...
- 95
10
votes
2
answers
7k
views
What is the correct spelling: "wrapable" or "wrappable"?
As it sounds: is "wrapable" correct, or is "wrappable" correct? Or are neither correct?
Microsoft Word complains about both, but Google doesn't correct either one.
- 203
16
votes
5
answers
402k
views
Which is the correct spelling: "Granddad" or "Grand-dad" or "Grandad"?
Granddad or Grand-dad or Grandad?
Which is the correct spelling?
- 161
1
vote
2
answers
10k
views
"vermilion" or "vermillion"?
Which one has primacy in English: "vermilion" or "vermillion" (as a color) ? Both have entries in various dictionaries. Is the difference concerned with AmE/BrE ?
- 35.9k
2
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Is it spelled "propeling" or "propelling" in American English?
Since travel becomes traveler and traveling in AmE (no double l), I thought that the same rule applied to propel.
However, reading and writing propeling feels awkward. (And propeler feels even more ...
12
votes
1
answer
31k
views
"Inner" but not "outter"?
in -> inner
out -> outer / (outter?)
What is the history or set of rules behind why 'inner' doubles the 'n' but 'outer' doesn't double the 't'?
- 1,498
50
votes
10
answers
96k
views
Is it "alright" or "allright"?
In practice I find both spellings being used. From a logical point of view, "allright" (as in: "all's right — everything is fine") seems correct. However, I recall hearing that "alright" is the ...
- 4,457
4
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why are the present and the past participles of "submit" spelled with double t?
Why are the present and the past participles of submit spelled with two t's?
user4940
43
votes
4
answers
95k
views
"Cancelled" or "Canceled"?
Cancelled or Canceled ? Which one is right?
You have successfully canceled the registration
or
You have successfully cancelled the registration
5
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is there any rhyme or reason to when one should double the last consonant when adding -ed or -ing? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
focussed or focused? The double consonant
Sometimes, final consonants are doubled when adding -ed or -ing to the end of a verb whose penultimate letter is a vowel.
stop → ...
- 506
50
votes
9
answers
164k
views
"Focussed" or "focused"? Rules for doubling the last consonant when adding -ed
Initially, my question was: is "focussed" or "focused" the correct past tense of "focus", but since this applies to a lot of words, I would like to generalize and ask: is there supposed to be a rule ...
- 4,457
40
votes
2
answers
120k
views
"Successfull"/"successful" — is this a UK/US difference? [closed]
I would tend to write double-l, but Google gives me more single-l, so I'm guessing it's an Atlantic divide thing.
And I guess all the other *full words.
- 4,729
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How did the "double consonant to shorten vowel" thing come about? ("furry" vs. "fury")
In English, a doubled consonant most commonly means "shorten the previous vowel", where "shorten" means map phonemes like this:
[aɪ] -> [i]
[oʊ] -> [ɔ]
etc
For example, fury is pronounced [fjʊri] ...
- 1,123
16
votes
4
answers
412k
views
Which spelling is correct: "benefiting" or "benefitting"?
Which spelling is correct: benefiting or benefitting?
- 263
11
votes
1
answer
75k
views
Signalling or signaling? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When is “L” doubled?
Most of the spell checkers are correcting it to be single l, from the other side many official technical documents/standards are using double ...
- 425
3
votes
3
answers
14k
views
Why do you write "occurred" but "listened"?
The past tense of to occur is occurred (not occured), but the past tense of to listen is listened (not listenned).
Why? What is the general rule that is applied to make the past tense of a verb?
- 59.6k
64
votes
4
answers
37k
views
When is "L" doubled?
Some verbs can have double Ls in the gerund form; for example:
modeling; modelling
traveling; travelling
Which form should we use, or which form is used more in the literature?
- 35.9k