Spelling Change: Change y to i

Change a final y to i before most suffixes when a consonant comes before the y.

When a word ends in a consonant plus y, change the y to i before adding most suffixes. 'Happy' becomes 'happiness'. 'Carry' becomes 'carried'. 'Busy' becomes 'busily'. 'Fly' becomes 'flies'. There are two exceptions to remember. First, keep the y before '-ing', so you do not get two i's in a row: 'carrying', 'flying'.

Second, if a vowel comes before the y, keep it: 'play' becomes 'played', and 'enjoy' becomes 'enjoyment'. When reading, if you see an i before a suffix, think about whether the base word ends in y. 'Tidiness' comes from 'tidy'. 'Studied' comes from 'study'. Finding the base makes the word's meaning clear.

• 1Consonant + y: change y to i before most suffixes.
• 2Keep the y before -ing (carrying).
• 3Vowel + y: keep the y (played).