Lesson 5

Spelling: Doubling the Final Consonant

Rule 1

A final single consonant letter is doubled before a suffix beginning with a vowel (-able, -ing, -er, -est, etc.) if (a) the last syllable of the word is stressed, and (b) the final consonant is preceded by a short vowel represented by a single letter, e. g. red—redder, redden, reddish; begin — beginning; thin — thinned, thinner.

But: repeat — repeated, repeating; develop — developed, developing.

Note 1. The words handicap, kidnap, outfit, worship are exceptions: handicapped — handicapping; kidnapped — kidnapping; out­fitted — outfitting — outfitter; worshipped — worshipping — worshipper.

Note 2. Final r is doubled if preceded by a letter representing a stressed vowel, no matter if it is long or short (but not a diphthong), e. g. occur — occurred, refer — referred. But: differ — differed, appear — appeared.

Note 3. Final / is doubled if it is preceded by a short vowel (stressed or unstressed). It is not doubled if preceded by a long vowel or a diphthong, e. g. travel — travelling, expel — expelled. But: reveal — revealed.

Rule 2

A final single consonant is not doubled if:

1. preceded by an unstressed vowel, e. g. open — opened, opening; limit — limited, limiting;

2. preceded by a vowel sound represented by two letters, e. g. look — looked, looking; turn — turned, turning;

3. the suffix begins with a consonant, e. g. hot — hotly (but: hottest); forget—forgetful (but: unforgettable).

Exercise 1. Form Participle I of the following verbs:

sit, wed, nag, wrap, commit, shop, grip, slip, tip, wag, skin,pat, slam, creep, shrug, win, grin, plan, regret, cook.

Exercise 2. Form the comparative and superlative degrees of the following adjectives:

big, red, hot, green, sweet, mean, clever, weak, sad, thin, clear, broad, cool, fat, deep, meek, dim, flat, slim, wet.

Exercise 3. Read the following groups of related words. Note the dependence of the doubling of the final r on the stress.

infer—inferred, inference; confer—conferred, conference; prefer — preferred, preferable, preferance; differ — different, difference; abhor — abhorrent, abhorrence.

Exercise 4. Give the Past Indefinite and Participle I of the following verbs:

differ, conquer, prefer, clatter, occur, appear, blur, recover, linger, fear, lower, murmur, water, flatter, stir, infer, refer, alter, bother, deliver, appear, pour.

Exercise 5. Give Participle I of the following verbs:

cancel, worship, quarrel, travel, expel, reveal, deal, sail, steal, kneel, boil, conceal, peal, heal, rebel, level, patrol, marvel, signal, revel.

Exercise 6. In each pair of sentences below the same idea can be expressed in two ways. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word from the list. Open the brackets in the listed words and make the necessary changes:

occu(r)ed, re(d)en, worshi(p)ed, trave(l)ed, expe(l)ed, diffe(r)ed, murmu(r)ed, sti(r)ing, quare(f)ed, wra(p)ed, regre(t)ed, revea(l)ed, cance(l)ed, prefe(r)ed, signa(J)ed, appea(r)ed.

1. She was so embarrassed that she began to blush. She was so embarrassed that her face began to .... 2. King Midas loved gold and constantly declared his great love for it. King Midas ... gold. 3. They could not agree on the point. Their opinions on that point... . 4. A hideous face suddenly showed itself in the window. A hideous face suddenly ... in the window. 5. This event took place in 1964. This event... in 1964. 6. He has visited many countries. He has ... a great deal. 7. After his death it ¹ was disclosed that he had been a millionaire. After his death it was ... that he had been a millionaire. 8. The boy was turned out of school. The boy was ... from school. 9. The branches of the tree rustled very softly. The branches of the tree ... . 10. It was 3 a. m. and everyone in the house was

sleeping. It was 3 a. m. and no one was .... 11. It has been decided that the

- ~i

concert will not take place. The concert has been ... . 12. He and his wife argued constantly. He and his wife ... constantly. 13. The first snowfall indicated that autumn had come to an end. The first snowfall ... the end of autumn. 14. She said she would rather stay at home. She said that she ... to stay at home. 15. He was sorry that the incident had taken place. He ... that the incident had taken place. 16. Mary put pretty paper round the gift and made it look attractive. Mary ... the gift attractively.

Exercise 7. Open the brackets, doubling the final consonant of the root where necessary. Translate into Russian.

1. Brunner moved uncomfortably and offer(-ed) a weak smile. 2. He took Sally's hand, pulled her to her feet and propel(-ed) her into an orderly room. 3. The soft earth was scar(-ed) with hoof prints and heavy wheels and the vegetables were mashed into the soil. 4. "Who says so?" said Horst, signal(-ing) Otto to move his chair nearer. 5. Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries must have been a fearsome chaos of war(-ing) tribes and kingdoms.

6. He stretched his long legs in their scar(-ed) high boots for them to admire.

7. The Red Cross Society administer(-ed) relief to those who lost everything in the earthquake. 8. For further details the reader is refer(-ed) to the end of the book. 9. The book is full of refer(-ence) to places I know well. 10. The king confer(-ed) a knighthood on several distinguished men. 11. Many international confer(-ences) have been held in Geneva.

Exercise 8. Copy and translate the sentences. Explain the cases of doubling consonants. (The sentences may be used for dictation.)

A. 1. The place was now filled with people who chatted and laughed. 2. So I told her the whole story, omitting nothing. 3. The water soaked the cloth, and ran down on to my lap. 4. So he slipped into the hotel and brought Mr Burtel the pictures. 5. They are beginning to have doubts about him. 6. It was the hard work, the many children and the nagging husband that had changed her. 7. He grabbed the small briefcase that Jack was carrying. 8. She reddened and laughed a little awkwardly. 9.1 shrank back against the seat, my heart beating quickly. 10. The driver was an olive- skinned young man with beautifully combed hair. 11. He put on a pair of thick horn-rimmed glasses, which he wore only when absolutely necessary.

B. 1. The conference was cancelled because not all the participants could attend it. 2. The soldier signalled the message with a flag. 3. He is a regular globe-trotter, he has travelled all over the world. 4. They had just been expelled from school. 5. The excellent oval of her face and her chiselled features could not but attract attention. 6. He controlled his anger, though it was not at all easy. 7. Jane could not share her husband's strange preference for French novels. 8. The headmaster is in conference now; you can see him later. 9. He had conferred with his lawyers before he came to a final decision. 10. It never occurred to him that I dreaded this arrival as much as I longed for it. 11. Through the window the planes

looked blurred and vague. 12.1 shivered as though someone had opened the door behind me. 13.1 preferred the rose garden after all, to the sound of the sea. 14.1 felt rather like someone peering through the keyhole of a locked door, and a little furtively I laid the book aside.

A Text for Reproduction

CLIMBING

When we were sixteen my twin brother and I spent a week climbing the mountains in the Lake District. One day, just as we reached the summit of a mountain called Great Gable, early in the afternoon, it began to rain, and with the foolish optimism of youth we decided to take a short cut back to the farm-house where we were staying. It looked possible on the map, but there was no footpath. After half an hour the clouds came down and reduced visibility to about two yards. It was impossible to go on, and we sheltered as best as we could under an overhanging rock. Three hours later the clouds were as thick as ever and we were feeling cold, hungry and very miserable. Moreover, it was beginning to get dark. Fortunately we had told our landlady, Mrs Merton, where we were going, and we hoped that if we were not back by nightfall she would raise the alarm and send a search party. From time to time we shouted, but there was no answer. Then, at last, the clouds rolled away, and we saw the lights of a search party, not below us, but above us. We attracted their attention and three men came scrambling down towards us. Then we saw that we were nearly at the edge of a sheer drop, and that if we had gone on in the clouds we would certainly have been killed. We were so cold and stiff that the men had to help us back to the top and then down to the farm-house. Mrs Merton was very glad to see us, but we made her promise not to tell our parents.

(from Guided Composition Exercises by D. H. Spencer)

COMPOSITION EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Complete these sentences (consult the text).

1. Because of the rain .... 2. The visibility was so bad .... 3. Mrs Merton knew .... 4. When the clouds disappeared .... 5. After we got back to the farmhouse ....

Exercise 2. Make up sentences according to the model:

frightened/utter/word

He was so frightened that he couldn 't utter a word.

self-confidentl take!precaution; stupid/understand/sentences; shy/make/ remark; excited/sleep/minute; intelligent/fail/examination.

Exercise 3. Write a story in two or three paragraphs, using the suggested words as an outline. Note that articles, pronouns, etc. are not given in the outline and must be supplied.

Poor Indian tailor made caps — wandered from village to village selling them — one afternoon fell asleep in forest — crowd of monkeys stole caps — tailor woke up — saw monkeys in trees wearing his caps — waved stick at them — monkeys waved branches — threw stones at them — monkeys threw fruits off trees — threw own cap on ground in anger — monkeys imitated him — collected caps — continued his journey.