A Confusing Spelling Rule

This is a confusing spelling rule only if you let it be. Learn the rule once and for all time here and now! First the preliminaries. The English alphabet has 26 letters from a to z. It has five vvowels: a, e, i, o, and u. The letter "y" is a vowel when it sounds like an "i" or an "e", so that is why we sometimes say we have six vowels. All of the other letters are called "consonants."
Now for the confusing spelling rule: If a word ends with ONE vowel and ONE consonant and you are adding "ing" or "ed" to it,DOUBLE the consonant and then add the ending. Thus, PLAN becomes PLANNING not PLANING. Okay?.....or....PLAN becomes PLANNED ...not PLANED.......
Now a word like meet simply becomes meeting because meet has TWO vowels and one consonant at the end. It has to be one vowel and one consonant.
The tricky part comes with TWO syllable words. Now you really have to pay attention. Here is the rule for two syllable words: IF YOU HAVE A TWO SYLLABLE WORD THAT ENDS WITH ONE VOWEL AND ONE CONSONANT AND THE ACCENT IS ON THE LAST SYLLABLE, THEN DOUBLE THE LAST CONSONANT BEFORE ADDING YOUR ENDING. (That is a mouthful!)You need to have the same situation as with one syllable words except that the accent must be on the SECOND syllable. Let's look at an example: Let's take the verb "deter". Deter has two syllables: de-ter. The word ends with one vowel (e) and one consonant (r). Also, the accent is on the second syllable. Therefore when we add "ed" we spell the word "deterred. (We put in two r's.) Here is the word in a sentence: "The teacher DETERRED the student from his goal."
I have a favorite word to illustrate this rule and once you understand my example, you will NEVER forget the rule. Trust me. The root word is "REFER". It has two syllables: They are "re" and "fer". The accent is on the second syllable. It ends with one vowel and one consonant. Here are some sentences using various forms of this word:
l. You have kidney trouble. I REFER you to a nephrologist.
2. The REFERRAL was to the Nephrology Department.
3. The doctor REFERRED him to a clinic in Boston.
4. The patient made REFERENCE to his family history.
In sentence #2 and #3, the letter "r" is doubled to follow the spelling rule. However, I want you to notice very carefully that I did NOT double the "r" in the word "reference" in sentence #4. (If you learn why, you will NEVER forget the rule. THE REASON WHY is there is an ACCENT SHIFT in the word "reference". The accent shifts back from the seecond syllable to the first syllable and therefore you cannot double that final consonant. Look, say the word REFERRAL. Now say the word REFERENCE. Can you hear how the accent shifts? Mr. Zorro, I am mostly speaking to you, so when I see you, I will listen to you say these words and see if you understand the rule. Anyone else can send me an e-mail and I will talk to you some more if you wish. (leocoleman@rocketmail.com)