CHAPTER 24

Using ay and ai

The long vowel sounds produced by ay and ai are exactly the same, but there is a logical reason to use

one rather than the other. There are very few exceptions.

Spelling rule #1: The ay is used at the end of a word:

(^) Spelling rule #2: The ai is used in the middle of a word:
(^) Note that the ai must be followed by at least one consonant:
(^) There are very few words that start with ay or ai.
(^) When adding suffixes, as the y is preceded by a vowel, the y is not usually changed to an i.
(^) Note that three words follow the rules when they take the past tense.
(^) Anomalies include the words crayon, bayonet, and mayor, which retain the y in order to avoid the
triple vowel combination of aio. Many years ago, mayor was spelled mair.