Spelling Help: How to Add Vowel Suffixes to Short-Vowel Words

Knowing a few basic rules about adding vowel suffixes to short-vowel words can help you avoid common spelling mistakes.

A suffix is one or more letters added to the end of a word. A vowel suffix is a suffix that begins with a vowel, such as -able, -ed, -er, -est, -ing, and -ist.

A short-vowel word is a word that has a short-vowel sound. A vowel is short if you do not hear its letter name, the way you pronounce the letter in the alphabet. For example, the a in bat is short because when you say bat you do not hear the letter name a. Therefore, bat is a short-vowel word.

Dropping a Silent E

Some short-vowel words end with a silent e. A silent e is an e that does not represent a pronounced sound. You nearly always have to drop a silent e before adding a vowel suffix.

Come, for example, ends with a silent e. To add a vowel suffix, you must first drop the silent e: come + -ing = coming.

Here are some more examples of short-vowel words where you must drop a silent e at the end before adding a vowel suffix:

shove + -ed = shoved
give + -en = given
love + -er = lover
have + -ing = having
share + -ing = sharing
false + -ity = falsity

Most short-vowel words, however, do not end with a silent e. The rules below apply to the majority of short-vowel words.

Two Consonants between Short Vowel and Suffix

When you add a vowel suffix to a short-vowel word, make sure there are two consonants between the short vowel and the suffix.

Sometimes the word already ends with two consonants, so all you have to do is add the vowel suffix:

inform + -ant = informant
brush + -ed = brushed
send + -er = sender
soft + -en = soften
fast + -est = fastest
bring + -ing = bringing
art + -ist = artist

Often, however, the two-consonant rule requires you to double the final consonant of the word before adding the vowel suffix:

stop + -ed = stopped
got + -en = gotten
win + -er = winner
sad + -est = saddest
hit + -ing = hitting
shop + -ing = shopping
drug + -ist = druggist

Doubling Final Consonants in Words of More Than One Syllable

Notice that all the doubling-rule examples above are one-syllable words (such as stop). However, the doubling rule also applies to words of more than one syllable if the accent falls on the last syllable of the word:

regret’ + -able = regret’ table
occur’ + -ed = occur’ red
commit’ + -ee = commit’ tee
occur’ + -ence = occur’ rence
confer’ + -ing = confer’ ring
equip’ + -ing = equip’ ping
rebel’ + -ion = rebel’ lion

If the accent falls on a syllable other than the last, do not double:

deliv’ er + -ance = deliv’ erance
of’ fer + -ed = of’ fered
to’ tal + -ed = to’ taled (standard American spelling)
devel’ op + -er = devel’ oper
lim’ it + -ing = lim’ iting
trav’ el + -ing = trav’ eling (standard American spelling)
vis’ it + -or = vis’ itor

Exceptions: -Ence Words

Refer is a two-syllable short-vowel word with an accent on the last syllable. By rule, you should have to double the final r before adding the vowel suffix -ence (like occurrence). But the accent in the resulting word, reference, shifts from the last syllable to the first syllable. Therefore, the r is not doubled.

Reference is one of a group of similar -ence words that are exceptions to the doubling rule:

confer’ + -ence = con’ ference
defer’ + -ence = def’ erence
infer’ + -ence = in’ ference
prefer’ + -ence = pref’ erence
refer’ + -ence = ref’ erence

Other Exceptions

Here are some common exceptions to the above rules:

ques’ tion + -aire = questionnaire’
per’ son + -el = personnel’
excel’ + -ent = ex’ cellent

This overview does not, of course, cover all possible situations involving vowel suffixes and short-vowel words. However, it should provide a good basis for avoiding many common spelling errors.

Marjorie D. Lewis and Darryl D. Lyman. Essential English: Solving Common Writing Problems. Goodyear Publishing and HarperCollins.