Spelling of verbs in the Present Progressive

Adding -ing in the Present Progressive

Be careful with some words when adding -ing to the infinitive.

1. consonant after a short, stressed vowel at the end of the word

Double the consonant.

sit – he is sitting
put – he is putting

If the vowel is not stressed, we do not double the consonant:
benefit – benefiting (Here we stress the first -e, not the -i.)

In British English we double one -l at the end of the word:
travel – travelling

2. one -e at the end of the word

Drop the -e.

write – he is writing
take – he is taking

BUT:
double-e: Add -ing:
see – he is seeing

3. verbs ending in -ie

Change -ie to -y.
lie – he is lying

4. verbs ending in -c

Change -c to -ck.
picnic – he is picnicking

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