Spelling of verbs in the Present Continuous

Adding -ing in the Present Continuous

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.

hit – she is hitting
cut – he is cutting

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.

hope – she is hoping
make – he is making

BUT:
double-e: Add -ing:
agree – he is agreeing

3. verbs ending in -ie

Change -ie to -y.
die – she is dying

4. verbs ending in -c

Change -c to -ck.
panic – she is panicking