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Spelling: y and i
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Spelling: y and i

Master the y to i rule in 11 Plus English. Learn when final y changes to i before endings, and when it stays y for accurate spellings.

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Fascinating Fact:

Final y after a consonant changes to i before endings: happy → happier, happiest, happiness.

In 11 Plus English, the final y often changes to i before a suffix when a consonant comes before it (copy → copied). Keep y before -ing (carry → carrying) and after a vowel (day → days).

Key Terms

  • Suffix: Letters added to the end of a word, for example -er, -est, -ness, -ful, -ing.
  • Consonant: Any letter that is not a vowel (a, e, i, o, u). In happy, p is a consonant before y.
  • Base word: The main word before endings are added, for example happy in happiness.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

When do I change final y to i?

Change y to i when a consonant is before y and you add a vowel-starting suffix, for example try → tries, tidy → tidiness, lazy → lazier.

When should I keep y instead of changing to i?

Keep y before -ing (carry → carrying) and when a vowel comes before y in the base word (play → played, day → days, enjoy → enjoyed).

Are there any useful patterns or exceptions?

-ful and -ness follow the change (beauty → beautiful, ready → readiness). -ly often keeps y (shy → shyly), so check the suffix carefully.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .
Which one of the following word pairs has an incorrectly spelt second word? You need only concentrate on whether it should be 'i' or 'y'.
marry-married
pay-payment
sloppy-sloppyness
daisy-daisies
'Sloppyness' breaks Rule 1. It should be 'sloppiness'
2 .
Which one of the following word pairs has an incorrectly spelt second word? You need only concentrate on whether it should be 'i' or 'y'.
key-keys
fly-flies
day-days
puppy-puppys
'Puppys' breaks Rule 3. It should be 'puppies'
3 .
Which one of the following word pairs has an incorrectly spelt second word? You need only concentrate on whether it should be 'i' or 'y'.
hobby-hobbies
fry-fried
battery-batteries
dry-driing
'Driing' breaks Rule 2. It should be 'drying'
4 .
Which one of the following word pairs has an incorrectly spelt second word? You need only concentrate on whether it should be 'i' or 'y'.
noisy-noisier
busy-busyness
funny-funniest
sticky-stickiness
'Busyness' breaks Rule 1. It should be 'business'
5 .
Which one of the following word pairs has an incorrectly spelt second word? You need only concentrate on whether it should be 'i' or 'y'.
healthy-healthier
joy-joiful
lazy-lazily
buy-buyer
'Joiful' is NOT covered by Rule 1 because the word 'joy' ends in a 'vowel + y': in such cases, the 'y' remains unchanged. It should be 'joyful'
6 .
Which one of the following word pairs has an incorrectly spelt second word? You need only concentrate on whether it should be 'i' or 'y'.
play-playful
study-studious
day-dayly
greed-greediness
This is an exception: 'y' changes to 'i'. It should be 'daily'. Learn the exceptions by heart
7 .
Which one of the following word pairs has an incorrectly spelt second word? You need only concentrate on whether it should be 'i' or 'y'.
worry-worries
fly-flying
copy-copyist
gay-gayly
This is another exception: 'y' changes to 'i'. It should be 'gaily'. Learn the exceptions by heart, e.g. 'pay-paid', 'say-said', 'lay-laid', and 'slay-slain'. These are all irregular verbs: be on the lookout for such verbs; they can wreak havoc with your spelling
8 .
Which one of the following word pairs has an incorrectly spelt second word? You need only concentrate on whether it should be 'i' or 'y'.
shy-shiness
dreary-drearily
belly-bellies
mighty-mightiest
This is an exception. It should be 'shyness'. Learn the exceptions by heart, e.g. dryness, slyness
9 .
Which one of the following word pairs has an incorrectly spelt second word? You need only concentrate on whether it should be 'i' or 'y'.
duty-dutiful
pretty-prettier
apology-apologys
party-parties
'Apologys' breaks Rule 3. It should be 'apologies'
10 .
Which one of the following word pairs has an incorrectly spelt second word? You need only concentrate on whether it should be 'i' or 'y'.
delay-delayed
toy-toies
carry-carrier
boy-boys
'Toies' is NOT covered by Rule 1 because the word 'toy' ends in a 'vowel + y': in such cases, the 'y' remains unchanged. It should be 'toys'
Author:  Frank Evans (Specialist 11 Plus Teacher and Tutor)
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