Consonants in one-syllable words: one consonant or two?

Most consonants are easy to spell: Just listen to the sounds you hear and write one letter for each sound:

rat

peg

drip

blob

drum

Sometimes you need two consonants after a short vowel sound.

The short vowel sounds are those you hear at the start of these words:


alligator	elephant	insect	octopus	umbrella

Some end consonants need to be doubled after a short vowel. The end consonants which need to double are :

f > ff	s > ss	l > ll	and c becomes ck

cliff	pass	shell	clock
staff sniff tiff puff bluff cuff stuff scoff off ('get off')	mass class press stress fuss hiss miss boss cross	bell smell still doll bull pull The 'all' words: call fall small wall	track snack neck speck click thick lock shock duck struck
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