study → studies (not 'studys')
y does not change to i if the ending is -ay/-ey/-oy/-uy:
but say → said pay → paid (irregular verbs)
Vowel letters: a e i o u
Consonant letters: b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x y z
Sometimes a word ends in a vowel + a consonant. For example: stop, big, get, etc.
Before -ing/-ed/-er/-est, the consonant at the end is doubled (p→pp / g→gg / t→tt etc.)
| V+C | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stop | S T O | P | p → pp | stopping stopped |
| run | R U | N | n → nn | running runner |
| get | G E | T | t → tt | getting |
| swim | S W I | M | m → mm | swimming |
| big | B I | G | g → gg | bigger biggest |
| hot | H O | T | t → tt | hotter hottest |
| thin | T H I | N | n → nn | thinner thinnest |
This does not happen:
(1) if the word ends in two consonant letters (C + C):
(2) if the word ends in two vowel letters + a consonant letter (V + V + C):
(3) in longer words (two syllables or more) if the last part of the word is not stressed:
but prefer pre-FER (stress at the end) → preferring/preferred
begin be-GIN (stress at the end) → beginning
(4) if the word ends in -y or -w. (At the end of words, y and w are not consonants.)