How do you spell the -ing form of a verb?

Most verbs add -ing with no other change: packing, waiting, playing. Drop a silent e (hope, hoping). Double a final consonant after a short stressed vowel (hop, hopping; begin, beginning). Change ie to y (lie, lying). Add k after ic (picnic, picnicking). See, agree, and be keep their e letters: seeing, agreeing, being.

Why is it hopping but hoping?

Hop has a short vowel, so the p doubles to keep that vowel short: hopping. Hope has a silent e that marks a long vowel, so the e drops and there is no doubling: hoping. The two spellings exist so the two verbs do not collide.

Do I double the consonant in open and visit?

No. The stress is not on the last syllable, so there is no doubling: opening, visiting, happening, offering. You do double in begin, prefer, submit, and occur, because the last syllable is stressed: beginning, preferring, submitting, occurring.

Is it travelling or traveling?

Both. Travelling, cancelling, and labelling are the usual British spellings. Traveling, canceling, and labeling are the usual American ones. Control doubles in both varieties (controlling) because the last syllable is stressed.

What is the -ing form of lie and die?

Lying and dying. The ie becomes y, then -ing is added. Dye, meaning to colour, is dyeing, with the e kept so it does not look like dying. Tie becomes tying.

English grammar · Beginner

-ing Verb List: Doubling, Dropping e, and ie to y

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

This page is a spelling list of common -ing forms, grouped by the rule that produces them. Most verbs just add -ing (pack, packing). Silent e drops (hope, hoping). A short stressed vowel plus one consonant doubles (hop, hopping). Final ie becomes y (lie, lying). A few extra groups cover -ee, -ic, and British double l. The neighbouring -ing-form page explains what the ending is for; this one is how to write it.

hoping, hopping, lying, picnicking: four -ing spellings, four different rules

drop e, double the consonant, ie to y, add k after ic

What it is

The -ing ending is regular. The stem is what changes. Four spelling moves cover almost every verb you will write: add -ing unchanged, drop a silent e, double a final consonant after a short stressed vowel, or change ie to y. A short fifth group adds k after -ic (picnic, picnicking). Once you can put a verb in the right group, you do not have to memorise each -ing form as a one-off.

hope, hoping (silent e drops). hop, hopping (p doubles). lie, lying (ie becomes y). see, seeing (ee stays). picnic, picnicking (k added).

How to spot it

Write the base verb, then ask four questions in order. Does it end in silent e? Does it end in one stressed vowel plus one consonant? Does it end in ie? Does it end in ic? The first yes is the group. If every answer is no, just add -ing.

packing, waiting, sealing (no stem change: just add -ing)
hoping, making, writing (silent e dropped)
hopping, sitting, beginning (final consonant doubled)
lying, dying, tying (ie changed to y)

Hope and hop are the teaching pair: one letter of difference in the base, a doubled consonant of difference in the -ing form. Tape/tapping and tap/tapping work the same way. Read the base carefully before you double.

-ing Verb List Quick Reference

Which spelling group a verb belongs to

Group	Rule	Base verbs	-ing forms
No change	just add -ing	pack, wait, seal, play, see, agree	packing, waiting, sealing, playing, seeing, agreeing
Drop silent e	drop e, add -ing	hope, make, write, come, take, use	hoping, making, writing, coming, taking, using
Double the consonant	short stressed vowel + one consonant	hop, sit, run, stop, begin, prefer	hopping, sitting, running, stopping, beginning, preferring
ie to y	ie becomes y, then -ing	lie, die, tie	lying, dying, tying
Add k after ic	ic verbs add k	picnic, panic, mimic, traffic	picnicking, panicking, mimicking, trafficking
British double l	final l doubles in BrE	travel, cancel, label, signal	travelling, cancelling, labelling, signalling

Common -ing Verb List Examples in English

Lists first, rule attached to each group. Use them as a look-up, then as a pattern to extend:

Just Add -ing

packing, waiting, sealing, loading, radioing: consonant or vowel cluster, no change
playing, enjoying, staying, buying, trying: final y is not doubled and does not drop
seeing, agreeing, fleeing, freeing: final ee keeps both e letters
being, seeing, doing, going: the four most frequent irregular bases, still regular in -ing

Trying keeps y. Lying does not, because the base is lie, not ly. Y and ie are different endings.

Drop Silent e

hoping, making, writing, coming, taking: the e is silent, so it goes
using, closing, giving, having, living: same drop with high-frequency verbs
taping, biting, racing, arguing, continuing: tape not tap: no doubling once e has dropped
ageing or aging, likeable still drops for liking: age is the one common verb with two accepted -ing spellings

If you keep the e (hopeing, makeing) you have left standard spelling. Be is the exception that keeps e: being, not bing.

Double the Final Consonant

hopping, sitting, running, stopping, getting: one syllable, short vowel, one consonant
beginning, preferring, submitting, occurring: stress on the last syllable, so it still doubles
opening, visiting, happening, offering, entering: stress not on the last syllable, so no doubling
raining, waiting, boiling, needing, keeping: vowel is long or two vowels, so no doubling

Hop / hopping versus hope / hoping is the contrast to keep on one card. Begin / beginning versus open / opening is the stress contrast.

ie to y, and -ic plus k

lying, dying, tying: the full ie-to-y set in common use
picnicking, panicking, mimicking, trafficking: k keeps the c hard before i
singing, bringing, ringing, swinging, stinging: the stem already contains ing; add one ending only
checking in, logging off, packing up: phrasal verbs: -ing on the verb, particle separate

Die plus -ing is dying, never dieing. Dye plus -ing is dyeing, with the e kept to mark the colour verb.

How -ing Spelling Groups Work

Apply the questions in order. The first yes is the only rule you need for that verb.

Drop Silent e, Keep ee and be

A final silent e is there to mark a long vowel or a soft c or g. Once -ing is added, the e is no longer needed: hope, hoping; make, making; write, writing. Verbs that end in ee already have a long vowel in the letters, so both e's stay: see, seeing; agree, agreeing. Be keeps its e because bing would collide with another word and a different vowel: being.

hoping, seeing, being

e dropped; ee kept; be keeps e

Silent e goes. ee and be stay.

Double After a Short Stressed Vowel

One vowel, one final consonant, stress on that syllable: double the consonant so the vowel stays short. Hop would become hoping if you did not double, and hoping is already the -ing of hope. The doubling is there to stop that collision. Two-syllable verbs double only if the stress is on the last syllable: begin, beginning; prefer, preferring; but open, opening; visit, visiting.

hopping, beginning, opening

hop doubles; begin doubles; open does not

Short, stressed, one consonant: double.

Change ie to y

Lie, die, and tie would look wrong as lieing, dieing, tieing, and they would suggest a different vowel. English changes ie to y and then adds -ing: lying, dying, tying. Dye, the colour verb, keeps e (dyeing) so it does not collide with dying.

lying, dying, dyeing

lie and die change ie to y; dye keeps e

ie to y. Dye keeps e.

Add k After ic so c Stays Hard

C before i is usually an s sound (city, race, racing). Picnic plus -ing would look as if the c had gone soft. English inserts k: picnicking, panicking, mimicking, trafficking. The k is not pronounced as an extra sound; it is a spelling guard.

picnicking, panicking

k inserted after ic

ic verbs: add k, then -ing.

Common Mistakes with -ing Verb List

Incorrect: She is hopeing the millrace stays open.

Correct: She is hoping the millrace stays open.

Hope ends in a silent e, so the e drops before -ing. Hopeing keeps a letter the ending has made unnecessary.

Incorrect: The hopper is hopeing along the quay.

Correct: The skipper is hopping along the quay.

Hop is a short stressed vowel plus one consonant, so p doubles: hopping. Hoping would mean something else, from hope. The doubling is what keeps the two verbs apart.

Incorrect: The visor is lyeing on the hook.

Correct: The visor is lying on the hook.

Lie changes ie to y before -ing. Lieing and lyeing are not standard. Dyeing, with e, is the colour verb.

Incorrect: They are picnicing by the millrace.

Correct: They are picnicking by the millrace.

Picnic adds k so the c stays hard before i. Without k, the letters suggest an s sound that the word does not have.

British Double l, and Stems that Already Contain ing

Two extra groups that do not fit the four main questions but appear constantly.

Final l in British English

British spelling doubles a final l after a single vowel even when the stress is not on the last syllable: travelling, cancelling, labelling, signalling, quarrelling. American spelling usually keeps a single l: traveling, canceling, labeling, signaling.

travelling, cancelling, labelling: British
traveling, canceling, labeling: American
controlling, patrolling: stress on the last syllable: both varieties double l

Control and patrol double in both varieties because the last syllable is stressed. Travel is the word that shows the split.

Stems that already look like they have -ing

Sing, bring, ring, sting, swing, cling, and fling already contain the letters ing. They still take one -ing ending: singing, not singinging. The same is true of verbs whose last syllable is -ing in speech for other reasons: nothing extra is added beyond one ending.

singing, bringing, ringing: one ending only
stinging, swinging, clinging: same pattern
checking in, ringing up: particle stays a separate word

A noun such as a check-in can be hyphenated. The verb form checking in is two words.

Quick Check: -ing Verb List

Write the -ing form. Name the group if it helps you choose.

1. hope -> ___

Answer: hoping

silent e drops

2. hop -> ___

Answer: hopping

short vowel, double p

3. lie -> ___

Answer: lying

ie to y

4. begin -> ___

Answer: beginning

stress on the last syllable, double n

5. picnic -> ___

Answer: picnicking

add k after ic

6. travel -> ___ (British spelling)

Answer: travelling

British double l

-ing Verb List FAQs

How do you spell the -ing form of a verb?: Most verbs add -ing with no other change: packing, waiting, playing. Drop a silent e (hope, hoping). Double a final consonant after a short stressed vowel (hop, hopping; begin, beginning). Change ie to y (lie, lying). Add k after ic (picnic, picnicking). See, agree, and be keep their e letters: seeing, agreeing, being.
Why is it hopping but hoping?: Hop has a short vowel, so the p doubles to keep that vowel short: hopping. Hope has a silent e that marks a long vowel, so the e drops and there is no doubling: hoping. The two spellings exist so the two verbs do not collide.
Do I double the consonant in open and visit?: No. The stress is not on the last syllable, so there is no doubling: opening, visiting, happening, offering. You do double in begin, prefer, submit, and occur, because the last syllable is stressed: beginning, preferring, submitting, occurring.
Is it travelling or traveling?: Both. Travelling, cancelling, and labelling are the usual British spellings. Traveling, canceling, and labeling are the usual American ones. Control doubles in both varieties (controlling) because the last syllable is stressed.
What is the -ing form of lie and die?: Lying and dying. The ie becomes y, then -ing is added. Dye, meaning to colour, is dyeing, with the e kept so it does not look like dying. Tie becomes tying.