Spelling Tips The Y to I Rule

Spelling Tips The Y to I Rule Spelling Tips: The Y to I Rule When a word ends in a vowel plus â€Å"-y,† it’s usually straightforward to modify it by adding a letter (or letters); adding â€Å"-ous,† for example, means â€Å"joy† becomes â€Å"joyous.† However, when a word ends in a consonant plus â€Å"y† things get more complicated, which can make spelling challenging. To ensure your written work is error-free, it helps to keep the y to i rule in mind. The Y to I Rule The basic rule is, for any word that ends in a consonant plus â€Å"-y,† change the â€Å"y† to â€Å"i† if adding a suffix or forming a plural. Plurals For plurals, simply change the â€Å"y† to an â€Å"-ies†: Singular Plural Story Stories Candy Candies Hippy Hippies First-Person Singular Past Tense Verbs Forming the first-person singular of a verb ending in a consonant plus â€Å"y† requires changing the â€Å"y† to â€Å"-ies,† while the past tense involves switching â€Å"y† for â€Å"-ied†: Verb First-Person Singular Past Tense Fry Fries Fried Apply Applies Applied Beautify Beautifies Beautified Comparatives Superlatives When an adjective ends in a consonant plus â€Å"-y,† forming a comparative or superlative involves changing the â€Å"y† to â€Å"-ier† and â€Å"-iest† respectively: Adjective Comparative Superlative Tiny Tinier Tiniest Jumpy Jumpier Jumpiest Thirsty Thirstier Thirstiest Forming Adverbs Modifying an adjective to make an adverb involves substituting the â€Å"y† for â€Å"-ily†: Adjective Adverb Happy Happily Lazy Lazily Flimsy Flimsily Exceptions The â€Å"y†-to-â€Å"i† rule doesn’t always work; some variations of â€Å"sly,† for example, can be spelled with either a â€Å"y† or an â€Å"i† (e.g., â€Å"slyest/sliest† and â€Å"slyer/slier†). Moreover, while changing â€Å"y† to â€Å"i† isn’t typically necessary when a word ends with a vowel plus â€Å"-y,† there are exceptions here too (such as modifying â€Å"day† to become â€Å"daily†). As such, although the y to i rule is a good guideline, it’s still important to double-check words if you’re not sure they’re spelled correctly.