If you’ve ever paused while typing “coming”, you’re not alone. The word looks simple, yet its spelling can cause a surprisingly common mistake: adding an extra m and writing “comming.” The confusion usually comes from English spelling patterns such as run → running and sit → sitting, where the final consonant doubles before -ing.
However, coming follows a different pattern. The correct spelling is coming, with only one m. The spelling comming is not standard modern English.
Understanding why the difference exists makes the word much easier to remember. It also helps you avoid the same kind of spelling mistake with other verbs that end in a silent e.
Quick Answer
Coming is correct. Comming is incorrect in standard modern English.
The word comes from the verb come. When you add -ing, the final silent e disappears:
come + ing = coming
You don’t double the m.
| Spelling | Correct? | Example |
| coming | Yes | “Are you coming with us?” |
| comming | No | “Are you comming with us?” |
The same spelling applies in American English and other standard varieties of modern English. Comming may appear in historical texts or as a typo, but it isn’t the standard spelling you should use today.
Why Is “Coming” Correct?
The spelling becomes clearer when you look at the base verb: come.
Come ends with a silent e. When English verbs ending in silent e take the -ing ending, the final e usually drops.
That gives you:
- come → coming
- make → making
- take → taking
- write → writing
- drive → driving
- use → using
- give → giving
Notice what happens in each example. The final e disappears before -ing is added.
So:
COME → COM + ING → COMING
The word doesn’t become comming because there is no spelling rule that calls for doubling the m in come.
This distinction matters because English has another familiar pattern that does involve consonant doubling. That’s where much of the confusion begins.
Why Do People Spell It “Comming”?
The most likely reason is consonant-doubling confusion.
Consider these familiar verbs:
- run → running
- sit → sitting
- swim → swimming
- stop → stopping
- plan → planning
- get → getting
In these words, the final consonant doubles when the verb takes -ing.
Someone who remembers that general pattern may naturally wonder whether come should behave the same way:
come → comming
But English doesn’t apply the same rule to every verb.
The word come already has a silent e at the end. Its spelling changes by dropping that e, not by doubling the final consonant.
Compare the two patterns:
| Base verb | Correct -ing form | What changes? |
| come | coming | Silent e drops |
| make | making | Silent e drops |
| write | writing | Silent e drops |
| run | running | n doubles |
| sit | sitting | t doubles |
| stop | stopping | p doubles |
That small distinction explains the entire coming vs. comming problem.
Is “Comming” a Word?
In standard modern English, “comming” isn’t the correct spelling of the present participle of come.
If you’re writing an email, school assignment, article, report, text message, résumé, or professional document, use coming.
You may occasionally encounter comming in older English material or historical records. Historical English spelling wasn’t standardized in the same way modern English spelling is. A historical appearance, however, doesn’t make comming an acceptable modern spelling of coming.
This is an important distinction. Old spellings can survive in historical documents without becoming correct choices for present-day writing.
For modern English, the practical rule is simple:
Write “coming,” not “comming.”
What Does “Coming” Mean?
Coming has several related meanings because it can function in different grammatical roles.
Most commonly, it’s the present participle of the verb “come.” It can describe movement toward a person or place, an arrival, or something that will happen.
For example:
“I’m coming home.”
Here, coming describes movement toward the speaker’s home.
But coming can also describe something approaching in time:
“The coming weeks will be busy.”
In that sentence, coming means approaching or forthcoming.
The word can therefore appear in everyday conversations, formal writing, announcements, news reports, schedules, and descriptions of future events.
Coming as Movement
The most familiar meaning involves moving toward a particular person, place, or point.
Examples include:
- “Are you coming to the party?”
- “She’s coming upstairs.”
- “The children are coming inside.”
- “We’re coming to your house tonight.”
- “The bus is coming.”
The exact meaning depends on context. In general, the word indicates movement toward a destination or reference point.
Coming as Arrival
Coming can also describe an arrival that is taking place or expected.
For example:
“The guests are coming.”
This means the guests are on their way or are expected to arrive.
Similarly:
“Dinner is coming.”
Depending on context, this could mean dinner is being brought or is about to arrive.
Coming as Something Approaching
The word also works naturally when something lies ahead in time.
Examples include:
- “the coming year”
- “the coming months”
- “the coming season”
- “the coming generation”
- “the coming election”
- “the coming weekend”
In these expressions, coming means something like approaching, forthcoming, or next.
“Coming” as a Verb
The word coming is the present participle of come.
It’s frequently used with forms of be to create progressive constructions.
Examples include:
- I am coming.
- You are coming.
- He is coming.
- She is coming.
- We are coming.
- They are coming.
In the past progressive, you can also use coming:
- “I was coming home when it started raining.”
- “They were coming toward us.”
- “She was coming down the stairs.”
The form doesn’t change according to the subject. You don’t write comming for one subject and coming for another. Coming remains spelled with one m.
Present Progressive Examples
The present progressive often describes an action happening now or around the current period.
“I am coming.”
“She is coming to the office.”
“They are coming over tonight.”
These sentences all use the same spelling: coming.
Future Meaning With “Coming”
English speakers also commonly use coming when talking about future events.
For example:
“Are you coming tomorrow?”
The action hasn’t happened yet. The question asks whether the person plans to attend or arrive tomorrow.
Likewise:
“We’re coming next week.”
The event lies in the future, but coming remains the correct form.
“Coming” as an Adjective
Coming can also work as an adjective.
When used this way, it generally describes something approaching, forthcoming, or expected soon.
Consider:
“The coming year could bring major changes.”
Here, coming modifies year. It doesn’t describe physical movement. Instead, it refers to the year that is approaching.
More examples include:
- “the coming holiday season”
- “the coming school year”
- “the coming weeks”
- “the coming generation”
- “the coming winter”
- “the coming deadline”
This use appears frequently in newspapers, business writing, forecasts, and everyday conversation.
Coming vs. Comming Examples
Seeing the error next to the correction makes the distinction much easier to remember.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| I am comming home. | I am coming home. |
| Are you comming with us? | Are you coming with us? |
| She is comming tomorrow. | She is coming tomorrow. |
| The bus is comming. | The bus is coming. |
| We’re comming over tonight. | We’re coming over tonight. |
| A new update is comming. | A new update is coming. |
| The weekend is comming soon. | The weekend is coming soon. |
| Thanks for comming today. | Thanks for coming today. |
| He is comming to school. | He is coming to school. |
| They are comming later. | They are coming later. |
The mistake doesn’t change the intended meaning in most cases. A reader will probably understand comming. Still, the spelling is incorrect in standard English, which can make your writing look careless.
That matters more in formal situations.
Read More: Dilemma vs Dilema: Which Spelling Is Correct?
The Difference Between “Coming” and “Comming”
The difference is just one letter, but only one form belongs in standard modern English.
| Feature | Coming | Comming |
| Standard spelling | Yes | No |
| Base verb | Come | — |
| Present participle | Yes | No |
| Standard American English | Yes | No |
| Common typo | No | Yes |
| Correct in formal writing | Yes | No |
| Example | “She is coming.” | “She is comming.” |
A useful way to think about it is that coming has a grammatical history that explains its spelling. It isn’t an arbitrary collection of letters.
Start with come. Remove the silent e. Add -ing.
come → coming
That’s it.
Coming vs. Other Words That Drop Silent E
The spelling of coming makes more sense when you compare it with other familiar verbs.
When a verb ends in a silent e, the e commonly disappears before -ing.
| Base word | + -ing | Correct form |
| come | come + ing | coming |
| make | make + ing | making |
| take | take + ing | taking |
| write | write + ing | writing |
| dance | dance + ing | dancing |
| hope | hope + ing | hoping |
| smile | smile + ing | smiling |
| move | move + ing | moving |
| close | close + ing | closing |
| save | save + ing | saving |
This gives you a strong memory pattern.
If the verb ends in silent e, check whether that e drops before -ing.
For come, it does.
Why “Running” Is Different From “Coming”
This is probably the most useful comparison for understanding the spelling.
Take run:
run → running
The final n doubles.
Now take come:
come → coming
The final e disappears.
Why?
The verbs belong to different spelling patterns. English sometimes doubles a final consonant when adding a suffix such as -ing, particularly with short stressed vowel patterns. But come doesn’t fit that pattern because its spelling already ends in silent e.
Compare:
run + ing → running
sit + ing → sitting
come + ing → coming
make + ing → making
The safest approach isn’t to memorize every spelling rule in isolation. Instead, recognize the base word and its established form.
A Simple Trick to Remember “Coming”
Here’s an easy memory formula:
COME − E + ING = COMING
The e leaves.
The m stays single.
That’s the entire trick.
You can also remember this sentence:
“Come keeps one M when it comes with -ing.”
That makes coming easier to recall when you’re typing quickly.
If you’re ever tempted to write comming, pause and return to the base verb:
come
Then remove the final e:
com
Then add ing:
coming
The extra m never enters the picture.
Common Mistakes With “Coming”
The extra m isn’t the only possible spelling mistake. A few other errors appear when people try to form the word quickly.
Comming
Wrong: “I’m comming home.”
Correct: “I’m coming home.”
This is the most common mistake addressed by the coming vs. comming comparison.
Comeing
Wrong: “She is comeing tomorrow.”
Correct: “She is coming tomorrow.”
This version keeps the silent e when it shouldn’t.
The correct formation removes the e before adding -ing.
Coming vs. Come
Another issue involves confusing the base verb with its -ing form.
Compare:
“I will come tomorrow.”
and:
“I am coming tomorrow.”
After will, use the base form come.
After am/is/are in the progressive construction, use coming.
| Sentence | Correct form | Why |
| I will come tomorrow. | come | Base verb follows will |
| I am coming tomorrow. | coming | Progressive construction |
| She wants to come. | come | Infinitive uses base form |
| She is coming. | coming | Progressive construction |
The spelling issue and grammar issue aren’t exactly the same. Knowing the difference helps you choose the right form for the sentence.
FAQs:
Is coming or comming correct?
Coming is correct. Comming is a misspelling in standard modern English.
Why is “comming” wrong?
The verb come drops its final silent e before -ing. The correct formation is come → coming, not come → comming.
Is “comming” ever correct?
It isn’t the standard modern spelling of coming. Historical English sources may contain variant spellings, but modern English uses coming.
Is coming the present participle of come?
Yes. Coming is the present participle of come. It’s commonly used in progressive constructions such as “I am coming” and “They are coming.”
Why does run become running but come become coming?
The two verbs follow different spelling patterns. Run doubles its final n before -ing, while come drops its silent e.
Conclusion:
When choosing between coming vs. comming, there’s a clear winner: coming. That distinction becomes easier once you compare coming with words such as running and sitting. Those words use consonant doubling, while coming uses silent-e deletion. So the next time you’re typing a sentence like “Are you coming?” there’s no need to hesitate. Coming is the standard spelling for modern English.
