Grammar Moses: Why do Americans cancel the second 'l' in 'canceled'?

Many of you are probably a little on edge these days, what with festivals, concerts, sports, card games, competitive puzzle-making and blowing kisses to anyone outside your household on hold while this pandemic exists.

Good thing you have me for entertainment.

There is one word that probably gores your ox more than any other these days: cancel. It's certainly on reader Paula Van Singel's mind.

“The use of 'cancelled' vs. 'canceled' has always been a concern of mine,” she wrote. “I typically double the 'L' when adding a suffix. I find that with COVID-19 cancellations I often see both spellings used but have noted that the trend seems to be not to double the 'L.' Is this spelling accepted in today's world or are we just saving printer ink?”

“It seems that if the word ends in a single consonant one should double it and if the word ends in a double consonant one does not double it.”

She ended her email:

Warmest regards,

Paula Van Singel

Wash Your Hands and Carry On.

Here was my response:

Dear Paula,

“Canceled” is the American English form; “cancelled” is for Britain and the rest of the English-speaking world. British English always uses a double consonant when making the past tense of verbs ending with “L.”

Why the disparity? I don't know.

The Associated Press Stylebook also uses “canceled.”

But the noun “cancellation” works for everybody.

You're right, though. Generally, the past tenses of verbs ending in “L” have a double consonant.

For whatever reason, if the emphasis is on the last syllable, as in “patrol,” then you double the consonant for the past tense: “patrolled.”

But when the emphasis is not on the last syllable, as in “travel” or “benefit,” you don't double the consonant. It's “traveled” and “benefited.”

I don't have the space today to get into the issue of why it's “swimming” and not “swiming.” But consider this: In some cases, doubling the consonant before adding “-ing” to a verb could end up changing the word entirely. Take the verb “to pine.”

“Billy had done two tours in Japan and was pining for his best girl.”

You wouldn't change that to “pinning,” would you? Of course not. Because then you would be stepping on the toes of “to pin.”

“Upon completion of nursing school, Susan and George were honored at the traditional pinning ceremony.”

I could write volumes on what to do with verbs, but I have neither the energy nor the space today.

Come to think of it, given the valediction in your email, I imagine you're either British or an Anglophile.

Paula got back to me as I was cutting and pasting our conversation into this column.

While she is an American, her parents were both Canadian. And she's an avowed Anglophile to boot.

You'd think if I could pick up on obscure clues like this I could also find a suitable birthday gift for my wife.

Correction

Last weekend I wrote about song titles with grammar issues. One of them was “Me & Julio Down By the Schoolyard,” by Paul Simon.

Wellllll, eagly eye reader Bruce Steinberg and film critic emeritus extraordinaire Dann Gire pointed out that the line in the song is “See me & Julio down by the schoolyard.”

In that instance, the “me” is correct, because “me” is the object rather than the subject on the sentence.

I stand corrected, gentlemen (and that includes you, Paul)!

Stay well and write carefully!

• Jim Baumann is vice president/managing editor of the Daily Herald. Write him at jbaumann@dailyherald.com. Put Grammar Moses in the subject line. You also can friend or follow Jim at facebook.com/baumannjim.