open vs opened

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BrunaBC

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Hello,

I have two questions, and I'd appreciate your help.

1) I'm in doubt of which option is correct (open or opened) : I remember closing the window before leaving home, how come it's open / opened?

2) If "open" folows the rule consonant, vowel, consonant, why doesn't it double the last consonant?

Thank you.
 

probus

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1) Open is correct.

2) We don't double the final consonant in words that end with n.
 

Raymott

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2) We don't double the final consonant in words that end with n.
I don't think that's the reason that 'opened' doesn't double the n. In "pen, penned" the n is doubled - that's just one counterexample to disprove your reason. What we need to explain the original rule is a proper expression of it. I'm not even sure what it is meant to apply to.
 

MikeNewYork

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Hello,

I have two questions, and I'd appreciate your help.

1) I'm in doubt of which option is correct (open or opened) : I remember closing the window before leaving home, how come it's open / opened?

2) If "open" folows the rule consonant, vowel, consonant, why doesn't it double the last consonant?

Thank you.

There are many exceptions to the doubling the final consonant rules. And they are different in BrE and AmE. In this case, the rule is that we don't normally double the final consonant in words of multiple syllables unless the stress is on the last syllable.
 

probus

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I thought hard but did not come up with penned. But now that you mention it, there are also stemming and stemmed. I still think these are exceptions to the rule.
 

Raymott

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I thought hard but did not come up with penned. But now that you mention it, there are also stemming and stemmed. I still think these are exceptions to the rule.
Yes, but what is the rule? Isn't that relevant if we are to discuss exceptions to it?
 

Raymott

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There are many exceptions to the doubling the final consonant rules. And they are different in BrE and AmE. In this case, the rule is that we don't normally double the final consonant in words of multiple syllables unless the stress is on the last syllable.
Who is "we"? "travel -> travelled". Did you mean "we Americans"?
Given that no one has stated the rule yet, I'll go out on a limb and say that we do normally double the final letter.
 

emsr2d2

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Hello,

I have two questions, and I'd appreciate your help.

1) I'm in doubt of which option is correct (open or opened) : I remember closing the window before leaving home, how come it's open / opened?

2) If "open" folows the rule consonant, vowel, consonant, why doesn't it double the last consonant?

Thank you.

1) "I remember closing the window before leaving home. How come it's open?"

2) I'm not sure what you mean by the rule "consonant, vowel, consonant". If you followed that "rule" (which I don't understand) then the logical letter after the "n" would be a vowel, making "opened" perfectly logical. However, as I don't know what "rule" you're talking about, it's hard to explain.

With regard to probus' statement "We don't double the final consonant in words that end in n", well, sometimes we do. "Pinned", "penned", "binned", "tinned", "canned" but "opened", "fastened", "hardened". Unless I'm very much mistaken, we double the consonant in one-syllable examples, but we don't with two.
 

Raymott

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Unless I'm very much mistaken, we double the consonant in one-syllable examples, but we don't with two.
You don't double the 'l' in travelled, ems?

unravelled, beginning, referred, billetted, submitted
Rule#4 below might help:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/spelling.htm
http://a4esl.org/q/h/9807/km-doubles.html

(I'm assuming we are discussing a possible rule for forming the participles of a verb ending in a consonant. Other rules might apply to nouns and to other suffixes.)
 
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MikeNewYork

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Who is "we"? "travel -> travelled". Did you mean "we Americans"?
Given that no one has stated the rule yet, I'll go out on a limb and say that we do normally double the final letter.

Yes, in AmE, it is traveled.
 

Raymott

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Yes, in AmE, it is traveled.
Oh, I know. It's just that whenever a teacher here says "we" without qualification, it's generally meant "we native Standard English speakers", not "we Americans" or "we Indians", etc. It would get very confusing for students if they could never know what "we" meant.
 

BrunaBC

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1) "I remember closing the window before leaving home. How come it's open?"

2) I'm not sure what you mean by the rule "consonant, vowel, consonant". If you followed that "rule" (which I don't understand) then the logical letter after the "n" would be a vowel, making "opened" perfectly logical. However, as I don't know what "rule" you're talking about, it's hard to explain.

With regard to probus' statement "We don't double the final consonant in words that end in n", well, sometimes we do. "Pinned", "penned", "binned", "tinned", "canned" but "opened", "fastened", "hardened". Unless I'm very much mistaken, we double the consonant in one-syllable examples, but we don't with two.

Thanks for your reply emsr2d2.

Here in Brazil it's taught to students that whenever the last three letters of a verb are consonant, vowel, consonant, then we double the last consonant. Examples:
run - running
shop - shopped / shopping
swim - swimming
stop - stopped, stopping
admit - admitted and so on...

Here follows a link Double Consonants

Thanks for your attention!
 

MikeNewYork

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Thanks for your reply emsr2d2.

Here in Brazil it's taught to students that whenever the last three letters of a verb are consonant, vowel, consonant, then we double the last consonant. Examples:
run - running
shop - shopped / shopping
swim - swimming
stop - stopped, stopping
admit - admitted and so on...

Here follows a link Double Consonants

Thanks for your attention!

What do you do with a two syllable word when the stress is on the first syllable? travel, pencil, wither, etc.
 

BrunaBC

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What do you do with a two syllable word when the stress is on the first syllable? travel, pencil, wither, etc.

Well, I think these are exceptions or perhaps the rule does not encompasses such two syllabe words where the stress in in the first syllabe. :/
 

MikeNewYork

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Well, I think these are exceptions or perhaps the rule does not encompasses such two syllabe words where the stress in in the first syllabe. :/

Well, your rule is the same as the AmE rule for one-syllable words. With multi-syllable words, we tend to double the consonant only when the stress is on the last syllable. There are still exceptions, but that addition cuts them down considerably.
 
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