When is y sometimes a vowel

In general terms, a consonant is a speech sound formed by some kind of constriction or impeding of air flow through the vocal tract, and a vowel lets the air flow freely through. The letter Y can stand for either of these types of sounds. In "yes," Y is representing a consonant, and in "gym" it is representing a vowel. In fact, due to the imperfect match between writing and speech, there are other "sometimes" vowels: W is a consonant in "we" and part of a diphthong vowel in "now.

It's part of the representation of a different vowel sound; compare it with "a. What sound does the O represent in "one"? What sound does the U represent in "united"? Most of the time a spoken vowel will be represented by one of those written forms. There aren't many words of English origin that include a "y" as the first letter in a syllable. But now that you know its pronunciation rules, it doesn't have to be confusing!

Keep your phonics knowledge fresh with these examples of word families. If you're ready to move on, practice these common digraphs in the English language. All rights reserved. Easy Guide to Words With Y. Words Where Y is a Vowel Even though "y" is technically a consonant, there are many more instances in which it functions as a vowel.

The easy way to remember is this: If the "y" isn't at the beginning of the word or beginning of a syllable, it's functioning as a vowel. Take a look at the different times when "y" functions as a vowel. Words that include only "y" and no other vowels are: by cry crypt cyst dry fly fry gym hymn lynch my myth nymph ply pry psych pygmy rhythm shy shyly sky sly slyly spry spy sync try tryst why wry Notice that in a few of these words, "y" appears more than once to make two different sounds.

Here are some words that end in a vowel and "y": alley annoy anyway array bay betray boy clay decay donkey employ enjoy essay gooey guy hay honey jockey key kidney okay may medley money monkey spray stay survey today way When you see that a word ends with a vowel and "y," you don't change the spelling to make the word plural.

When Y Is at the End of a Syllable You can also find "y" functioning as a vowel when it's at the end of a syllable. Here are some words where "y" is found at the end of a beginning or middle syllable: bicycle cycle dynamic Egypt hybrid hyena hygiene hyphen layer loyal lying oxygen prayer psychology python royal typhoon tyrant Most, if not all, of the words that follow this pattern have Greek origins.

When Y Is in the Middle of a Syllable The last way you'll find "y" function as a vowel is in the middle of a syllable. When Y is the First Letter in a Syllable The other way to use "y" as a consonant is when it begins the second or third syllable in a word. Examples of these words include: backyard beyond canyon coyote kayak lawyer papaya teriyaki yo-yo You may observe that these words are originally from other languages, including Japanese and Spanish. Because writing is not the same thing as speech.

While we casually refer to letters, which are written symbols, as vowels or consonants, the concepts of vowel and consonant properly belong to the domain of speech. In general terms, a consonant is a speech sound formed by some kind of constriction or impeding of air flow through the vocal tract, and a vowel lets the air flow freely through.

The letter Y can stand for either of these types of sounds. In "yes," Y is representing a consonant, and in "gym" it is representing a vowel. In fact, due to the imperfect match between writing and speech, there are other "sometimes" vowels: W is a consonant in "we" and part of a diphthong vowel in "now.