I’ve touched on prefixes and suffixes a little in the past, and when I was asked if it’s possible to form adjectives from verbs it made me think of a suffix that deserves an article of its own: -y.

The letter -y appears at the end of many words in English, but can also be added as a suffix to create new words with one of two main functions: to indicate something with the qualities of its root word, or for an informal and typically endearing naming convention. (Note though, don’t mix this up with the suffix -ly, used to form adverbs!)

Let’s go through both of these in a bit more detail.

Using the suffix -y to form adjectives

The first formation I was interested in is how adding -y at the end of a word can create an adjective that embodies the qualities of the root word. This is the reverse of what I covered with creating nouns from adjectives, as we can start with a noun and add -y for a describing word characterised by the noun. For words with short vowels, where we have a single vowel followed by a single consonant, we may double the consonant or add another consonant (e.g. change -c to -cky). For words that end in -e, we may replace the -e with the -y.

For example:

• might -> mighty
• point -> pointy
• fun -> funny
• panic -> panicky
• ease -> easy

It is also possible to create adjectives with the characteristics of an action, so we can form adjectives by adding -y to verbs in the same way. For example:

• run -> runny
• stick -> sticky
• wind -> windy (this also works as a heteronym in noun/adjective form for a different meaning!)

You may have similar nouns/verbs with a -y adjective that relates to either root, such as ‘glue -> gluey’.

Using the suffix -y with names

The other main use of -y in English is to create endearing or intimate alternative names for nouns, though this use may instead have the spelling -ie (it sounds the same, and sometimes either spelling is possible and can be a matter of preference). Again, we may double or vary consonants to connect this suffix.

This suffix is often used to expand short words, usually ones with one syllable, but it can also be used to shorten longer words or phrases.

• bird -> birdy
• Bill -> Billy
• sweet -> sweetie
• Victoria -> Vicky
• goalkeeper -> goalie
• bad guy -> baddy / baddie
• sick day -> sicky / sickie

This mostly has a diminutive quality, that is, altering a word to convey endearment, intimacy or smallness, and as such it gets used a lot for informal nicknames, pet names and slang. Note those last two examples; it lightens the rather negative roots of “bad guy” and “sick day”.

When can you use the -y suffix?

As with a lot of spelling and word formation rules in English, the simplest answer to when you can use this suffix in practice is, unfortunately, it depends. There is no easy rule to tell you if it’s possible to create a new adjective or noun with -y, nor whether the noun form should be spelt with -ie. To be accurate, you may have to use a dictionary and learn these words, though with people’s names you may have to simply ask.

That is true of formal and official English, at least, but it’s a suffix that’s otherwise used very flexibly informally. English speakers can actually add it, informally, to anything. When we add that -y sound to words, it’s typically for one of these two uses, to form a characterised adjective or an endearing name, and sometimes it’s used exactly because there isn’t a specific adjective that feels appropriate.

Someone might adds -y to any word in these ways, and by understanding this suffix we can interpret the meaning. You’ll have to watch out for the context on this, as the adjective form can also be used on names!

• That’s a very teachery advice. (i.e. the sort of thing a teacher would say)
• That’s a very Simony shirt. (i.e. the sort of shirt Simon would wear)

This is not formal English, and may produce words you won’t find in any dictionary (sometimes even words that no one else would use!), but it is rather common practice, and you can make sense of it if you watch out for those -ys.

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