People learning English sometimes find it difficult to know when to double the consonant at the end of a word. For example, examine the following words:
- enter --> entered (no doubling)
- stop --> stopped (doubling occurs)
- admit --> admitted (doubling occurs)
- quit --> qutting (doubling occurs)
- equip --> equipped (doubling occurs)
To be honest, most native speaking anglophones do not know the formulaic rule that can be used to determine when the consonant is doubled or not. They "just know" when to do it. They have memorized the words through frequent use.
For new learners, however, it is not so easy. So, there are a few formulaic (almost mathematical) rules that can be applied. The following websites explain these rules:
In case you are wondering why consonants are doubled, the following resource explains:
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