Spelling -ED Ending Rules

The following is a guide to the correct spelling of words ending -ED.

Remember: Not all words that end in -ED are verbs in the past tense. Sometimes they are Past Participlesor they could even be Adjectives ending in -ED. For now we will mostly use verbs in the Past Tense as examples though the same rules apply to all words ending in -ED

The general rule when changing a word (or verb) into its -ED form is just to add -ED to the end of it.

Infinitive	ED form
to play	played
to wait	waited
to work	worked
to rain	rained

• He played with his dog in the backyard.
• I waited for them to invite me.
• She worked until late last night.
• It rained all day.

Spelling Exceptions

The following exceptions exist when spelling words ending in ED:

1). If a word ends in an E we just add the D to the end.

Infinitive	ING form
to live	lived
to love	loved
to smile	smiled
to dance	danced

• I lived in Japan for two years and then moved to Thailand.
• I loved the surprise you had for me.
• He smiled when he saw his wife come through the door.
• They danced until their feet hurt.

2). If the word ends in a Consonant + Vowel + Consonant, we double the final consonant and add ED.

Infinitive	ING form
to stop	stopped
to admit	admitted
to plan	planned
to refer	referred
to commit	committed

• The policeman stopped the thief from escaping.
• He admitted that he was wrong.
• We planned a surprise birthday party for our friend.
• I referred the students to the website where they could practice some more.
• They committed a serious crime and will end up in jail.

3). If a two-syllable verb ends in a Consonant + Vowel + Consonant, we DO NOT double the final consonant when the stress is on the FIRST syllable.

Infinitive	ING form
to happen	happened
to enter	entered
to offer	offering
to suffer	suffering

• What happened?
• I entered through the back door.
• She was offered a new position with a higher salary.
• Many people are suffered from a lack of food and water.

4). BUT, we DO NOT double the final consonant when the word ends in W, X or Y or when the final syllable is not stressed.

Infinitive	ING form
to fix	fixed
to enjoy	enjoyed
to snow	snowed

• He fixed his bike.
• We enjoyed our time in the North of Chile.
• It snowed yesterday.

5). If the verb ends in consonant + vowel + L, we normally double the final L and add ED.

Note: In the United States (US) they DO NOT double the L when the accent is on the first syllable.

Infinitive	ING form (UK)	ING form (US)
to travel	travelled	traveled
to marvel	marveled	marveled

• I traveled around South America in 2012.
• Her beauty marveled us.