Double letters: accommodate, embarrass and friends
Double consonants cause more Year 6 spelling errors than almost anything else, because you can't hear them. But most doubles have a reason, and once children know the reason, the double letter is much easier to remember.
Why do some words have double letters?
Telling children “you just have to learn it” is the least effective approach to double letters. Most doubles come from one of four sources, and naming the source gives children something to hang the spelling on.
| Reason | How it works | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Short vowel | A double consonant often follows a short vowel | bottom, rabbit, different |
| Suffix rule | Doubling before -ing, -ed, -er | committed, beginning, preferred |
| Prefix + root | A prefix ending in the same letter the root starts with | misspell, dissatisfied, unnecessary |
| Latin prefix | A prefix that changed its last letter to match the root | accommodate, immediate, illegal, correspond |
The Latin prefix trick
This one is worth teaching explicitly in Year 6. Old prefixes like ad-, in- and con- changed their last letter to match the start of the root, because it was easier to say. That produced the doubles:
- accommodate, apparent, addressad- became ac-, ap-, ad-.
- immediate, illegal, irregularin- became im-, il-, ir-.
- correspond, committee, connectcon- became cor-, com-, con-.
Older pupils find this genuinely interesting, and it explains why so many “impossible” words have a double letter near the start.
The famous troublemakers
A handful of words cause most of the trouble. They are worth breaking into parts and learning deliberately:
- accommodate: double c, double m. It's big enough to accommodate both.
- embarrass: double r, double s. Teach it alongside harass, which has one r.
- committee: double m, double t, double e.
- necessary: one c, two s (one collar, two sleeves).
- occasion: double c, single s.
- successful: double c, double s, and only one l in -ful.
Double l and the -ful trap
When full becomes a suffix, it loses an l: careful, hopeful, beautiful. Children who know full well tend to write carefull. The reverse happens with -ly: careful + ly = carefully, which does have two ls, but one belongs to each part.
In the SATs
Words with double letters, especially those from the Year 5 and 6 statutory list such as accommodate, committee, embarrass and necessary, are a staple of the SATs spelling paper. They're also among the most common errors in Year 6 writing, so practice pays off twice.
Common mistakes
- acommodateMissing a c: accommodate.
- embarassMissing an r: embarrass.
- neccessaryOne c, two s: necessary.
- carefull-ful has one l: careful.
Teaching ideas
Find the reason
Give pupils a list of double-letter words and the four reasons. They label each word with its reason. Where no reason fits, the word goes on a “learn by heart” list, which turns out to be much shorter than expected.
Prefix building
Give roots (legal, mature, regular, necessary, satisfied) and prefixes. Pupils build the words and highlight the double letter at the join, saying aloud where each letter came from.
Count the doubles
For the troublemakers, pupils write the word and draw a box around each double pair. Committee gets three boxes. Counting makes the doubles stick.
Mnemonics, sparingly
One or two memorable phrases (the collar and sleeves of necessary) are useful. A mnemonic for every word becomes another thing to forget, so save them for the hardest few.
Try it: five quick questions
SATs-style questions to use as a starter or a quick check. Tap to see each answer.
Which is correct? adress / address
Show answer
address
Which is correct? comittee / committee
Show answer
committee: double m, double t, double e.
Add the prefix il- to logical.
Show answer
illogical
Which is correct? successful / succesfull
Show answer
successful
Which is correct? embarrass / embarass
Show answer
embarrass
Free worksheets for this topic
Printable A4 PDFs with answers. Free to use in class or at home.
