English Idioms4

MurielB a écrit:...
Ok Gérard, I try to remember what is American and what is English but i don't memorize everything. Thanks for the explanations !

gerardM a écrit:

Commonn Mistakes in English
FLUENTLAND.COM



All of the item spellings are wrong in both Am and Br English except "traveling (American spelling) - travelling (British spelling)".
This Am "el" vs Br "ell" is frequent for verbs ending in "-el".

I congratulate you on your success
I cannot agree with you on the subject

MurielB a écrit:...
Thanks Gérard, I would definitely have also written "travelling" instead of traveling

Verbs ending with a vowel plus -l

If the verb ends with a vowel plus -l (as in travel or equal), then you need to double the l before adding -ed and -ing in British English:

verb past tense present participle
travel travelled travelling
distil distilled distilling
equal equalled equalling


This rule doesn’t apply in American English: see more information about the differences between British and American spelling

Verbs ending with a single vowel plus a consonant

If the verb ends with a single vowel plus a consonant, and the stress is at the end of the word (e.g. refer), then you need to double the final consonant before adding -ed and –ing:

verb past tense present participle
admit admitted admitting
commit committed committing
refer referred referring


If the verb ends with a vowel plus a consonant and the stress is not at the end of the word, you don’t need to double the final consonant when adding -ed and -ing:

verb past tense present participle
inherit inherited inheriting
target targeted targeting
visit visited visiting


If the verb has only one syllable and ends with a single vowel plus a consonant (e.g. stop), then you need to double the final consonant before adding -ed and -ing:

verb past tense present participle
stop stopped stopping
tap tapped tapping
sob sobbed sobbing

Words ending in a vowel plus l

In British spelling, verbs ending in a vowel plus l double the l when adding endings that begin with a vowel. In American English, the l is not doubled:

British US
travel travel
travelled traveled
travelling traveling
traveller traveler
fuel fuel
fuelled fueled
fuelling fueling

gerardM a écrit:

MurielB a écrit:...
Thanks Gérard, I would definitely have also written "travelling" instead of traveling

"Also"?? I wouldn't have Muriel.

I guess you've a good grammar book, check the rule about Americans writing -eling/-eled" instead of the British "-elling/-elled" for oodles of verbs ending in "-el".
I think it comes from Webster and the spelling simplification projet (the project started in England but never went on there): our->or, -re->-er etc.
Many verbs double the ending consonant (ending consonant of the infinitive) to keep the pronunciation at past, present and past participles: hidden, written...
Regarding verbs ending in "-el", "eled" and "elled" do have the same pronunciation hence the "ll" is useless and was abandoned: cancel, travel...

Verbs ending with a vowel plus -l

If the verb ends with a vowel plus -l (as in travel or equal), then you need to double the l before adding -ed and -ing in British English:

verb past tense present participle
travel travelled travelling
distil distilled distilling
equal equalled equalling


This rule doesn’t apply in American English: see more information about the differences between British and American spelling

(Oxford dictionary)

Verbs ending with a single vowel plus a consonant

If the verb ends with a single vowel plus a consonant, and the stress is at the end of the word (e.g. refer), then you need to double the final consonant before adding -ed and –ing:

verb past tense present participle
admit admitted admitting
commit committed committing
refer referred referring


If the verb ends with a vowel plus a consonant and the stress is not at the end of the word, you don’t need to double the final consonant when adding -ed and -ing:

verb past tense present participle
inherit inherited inheriting
target targeted targeting
visit visited visiting


If the verb has only one syllable and ends with a single vowel plus a consonant (e.g. stop), then you need to double the final consonant before adding -ed and -ing:

verb past tense present participle
stop stopped stopping
tap tapped tapping
sob sobbed sobbing

(Oxford dictionary)

~~

Words ending in a vowel plus l

In British spelling, verbs ending in a vowel plus l double the l when adding endings that begin with a vowel. In American English, the l is not doubled:

British US
travel travel
travelled traveled
travelling traveling
traveller traveler
fuel fuel
fuelled fueled
fuelling fueling

(Oxford dictionary)