2006-09-04 02:34:59 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Believe it or not, it's just because "preferring" is accented in the second syllable, and "preference" is accented in the first.
If you wrote "prefering" you'd have to pronounce the "fer" part as the word "fear": pre-fear-ing. So, to keep the sound of the infinitive "prefer", you have to double the consonant. On the other hand, in "preference", the schwa (the sound for the second syllable, doesn't change by doubling the consonant, so this doubling would be pointless.
2006-09-04 06:08:24 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's all about the suffixes. When words that end in a short vowel and single consonant have -ing attached, the last consonant is almost always doubled. Thus, "travel" > "travelling", "rot" > "rotting", "cram" > "cramming", etc. Thus, "prefer", which ends in a sort vowel and a single consonant > "preferring". Nothing irregular or exceptional about it.
2006-09-04 11:30:55 · answer #2 · answered by Taivo 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
English is the most "irregular" of all the major languages spoken/written. There are hundreds of examples of those irregularities -- things that just don't "make sense". Maybe it gives English teachers a better sense of job security?
2006-09-04 09:37:56 · answer #3 · answered by pilgrimchd 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋