Y not?

The letter Y can act like a consonant or a vowel. Ironically, when Y follows or is followed by a vowel, it acts as a consonant. But when Y follows or is followed by a consonant, it acts as a vowel.

As a consonant, Y sounds like the Y in you:

year, eye, play

As a vowel, Y can sound like the letter E or the letter I.

Y usually sounds like E at the end of words with two or more syllables:

friendly, study, usually (E)

But Y sounds like I at the end of one-syllable words:

cry, fly, sky, try (I)

Y usually sounds like E between two consonants:

gym, myth (E)

But Y also to sound like I in the middle the structure consonant-Y-consonant(s)-E:

type, cycle (I)

But Y’s sound can change…

after adding a suffix: type (I) >> typical (E), cycle (I) >> cyclical (E)

or after adding a prefix: cycle (I) >> bicycle (E)

However Y’s sound doesn’t change after adding –ing at the end in the gerund form:

play >> playing (Y), study >> studying (E), cry >> crying (I)

Even when vowel Y turns into I …

In the third-person-singular verb form or the plural noun form:

study >> studies >> buddy >> buddies (E)

cry >> cries, fly >> flies,  (I)

Or after adding –ed at the end in the past simple / participle form: study >> studied (E), cry >> cried (I)

Or even after adding  –er /  –est at the end in the comparative / superlative, adjective / adverb form: easy, easier, easiest / early, earlier, earliest (E)

Listen to the audio below.