The letter l

As an indication for when to double this final consonant in British English, we replicate the explanation given in Section 1.5 of the English Style Guide of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation: “In British usage, a final l is doubled after a short vowel on adding -ing or -ed to verbs (sole exception: parallel, paralleled) and adding -er to make nouns from verbs”.

Examples would include the following:

Exemple adequatAlumni membership growth will probably level off by the end of the year.

Exemple adequatStudent interest in the new programmes has levelled off since January.



Exemple adequatAll those wishing to travel on the new grant should contact the International Office.

Exemple adequatThis regulation applies to administrative staff who travelled during the first semester.



Exemple adequatModel your task on one of the following diagrams.

Exemple adequatProject modellers will need a minimum of five years’ experience.


In American English, except for multi-syllabic words ending in al (final/finally; minimal/minimally), the letter l is usually not doubled before a suffix.
Finally, there are certain words ending in the letter l in British English which double this consonant in American English:

Exemple adequatenrol–enroll; fulfil–fulfill; appal–appall


Note that the letter l is accordingly doubled or not in derivatives ending in ment:

Exemple adequatenrolment–enrollment; fulfilment–fulfillment
Darrera actualització: 5-10-2023
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Recommended citation:
«The letter l» [en línia]. A: Llibre d’estil de la Universitat de Barcelona. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. Serveis Lingüístics. <https://www.ub.edu/llibre-estil/criteri.php?id=2258> [consulta: 29 març 2024].
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