4 Spelling – Changing y to i when adding suffixes

Category:           Spelling

Concept:            Changing y to i when adding suffixes

Connections to The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Language (2023):

_____B2. Language Foundations for Reading and Spelling

__________B2.1 Word Level Reading and Spelling

Prior Knowledge:

• Understanding the concepts of base words and suffixes
• Recognizing vowel and consonant patterns

What’s the definition?

With words ending in consonant and y, retain the y when adding –ing

e.g. bury – burying

With words ending in consonant and y, change the y to i when adding suffixes other than -ing

b.g. burial; buried

Note that patterns for creating plural forms of words ending in y are also explored in the chapter Plurals – Irregular Patterns.

What does it look/sound like?

Examples of adding suffixes to base words ending in a consonant plus y:

Note that the patterns described above relate to words ending in a consonant plus y. If the word ends in a vowel plus y, the y does not change to i:

Why does it matter?

As students progress as writers, they will encounter structural patterns for building on simple base words by adding endings that often change the part of speech. For example, by adding a suffix to the verb to worry, it can switch tenses (worried), become an adjective (worrisome) or noun (worrier). While some students may pick up these patterns intuitively, many will need to be made aware of them explicitly in order to apply them confidently in their writing.

How do I teach this?

In assessing student writing be aware of errors involving adding suffixes to words ending in consonant plus y. Depending on how widespread errors are, mini lessons can be given to groups of students, during teacher-student writing conferences, or brief whole class exploration of these patterns.

Point out and explore these patterns when they occur in classroom reading or whole class proofreading experiences. Develop anchor charts for students to consult as they write.

Provide students with some of the examples in the sections above and have them determine when the y is changed to i and when it is retained.

Use manipulatives to provide visual and hands on experiences with adding suffixes to words ending in a consonant plus y (see video below).

Online Resources:

Tips for Teaching the Y Rule https://www.theliteracynest.com/2022/12/tips-for-teaching-the-y-rule.html provides helpful background information on the “Y Rule” as well as practical teaching suggestions.

This video demonstrates the use of manipulatives to provide a visual and hands-on approach to exploring these patterns:

How to help students understand the spelling changes to a base word that ends in y.  https://youtu.be/fEl4wcUfbcw?si=NwRwQRw7Pgraf7Zx