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English Quiz - Spelling: y and i (Questions)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

English Quiz - Spelling: y and i (Answers)

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
[x]	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
[x]	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
[x]	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
[x]	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
[x]	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
[x]	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
[x]	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'.

[x]	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
[x]	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
[x]	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'