Y is a weird letter for at least three reasons. First, it can be a consonant, a vowel, or a vowel suffix. Second, when it is a vowel, it has no sound of its own; it has to borrow sounds from other vowels. Third, it acts in a strange way when it is at the end of a word.
Y as a Consonant
Y is a consonant only when it comes at the beginning of a word. It sounds like yuh:
yahoo
yes
yield
you
yummy
Y as a Vowel
Y is a vowel when it comes anywhere in a word other than the beginning.
As a vowel, y has no sound of its own. It borrows sounds from the vowels e and i:
y as a long e: candy, Pollyanna y as a long i: cry, type y as a short i: gym, pyramid y as an e and an i in the same word: dynasty, mystery
-Y as a Vowel Suffix
As a vowel suffix, -y works just like any other vowel suffix.
For example, you nearly always have to drop a silent e at the end of a long-vowel word before adding a vowel suffix. Because -y is a vowel suffix, you must drop the silent e before adding the -y:
In most short-vowel words, two consonants must come between a short vowel and a vowel suffix. Because -y is a vowel suffix, two consonants must separate a short vowel and a final -y.
If the short-vowel word already ends with two consonants, all you have to do is add the -y:
If the short-vowel word does not end with two consonants, you must double the last consonant before adding the -y:
chop + -y = choppy
fat + -y = fatty
fog + -y = foggy
skin + -y = skinny
sun + -y = sunny
Weird Y at the End of a Word
Y is especially weird in its behavior at the end of a word. When you add a suffix to a word that ends in y, sometimes the y changes and sometimes it doesn’t.
If the word ends with a consonant followed by a y, change the y to i before adding any suffix but -ing:
The reason you don’t change y to i in front of -ing is to avoid putting two i‘s together (two i‘s together are very rare in English, as in skiing and Hawaii). Therefore, if the word ends with a consonant followed by a y, add -ing without changing the y:
If the word ends with a vowel followed by a y, keep the y and add any ending:
play + -able = playable
toy + -ed = toyed
monkey + -ing = monkeying
employ + -ment = employment
valley + -s = valleys
However, there are a few exceptions to that rule, where you do change the y to an i after a vowel before adding an ending:
lay + -ed = laid
pay + -ed = paid
say + -ed = said
day + -ly = daily
gay + -ly = gaily
Weird Y in Reverse
Besides changing or not changing as the final letter in a word before a suffix, weird y sometimes reverses the process. Instead of being a spelling problem, it becomes a spelling solution.
Most verbs ending in -ie change the -ie to -y before adding the suffix -ing:
die + -ing = dying
lie + -ing = lying
tie + -ing = tying
vie + -ing = vying
This overview does not, of course, cover all possible situations and exceptions involving the weird y. However, it does give a good idea of the many uses and complexities of one of our strangest letters.
Marjorie D. Lewis and Darryl D. Lyman. Essential English: Solving Common Writing Problems. Goodyear Publishing and HarperCollins.
