Updated by Valentina Rampazzo on August 5, 2024
When to use ‘e’ vs. ‘y’ in Spanish
Ever read a sentence in Spanish with the word e in it? Andrea e Ignacio son amigos (Andrea and Ignacio are friends). Why is the word ‘and’ written as e instead of y? And more generally, why does “y” sometimes become “e” in Spanish? This change occurs to avoid two identical vowel sounds in a row. When the word following “y” or “o” starts with the same vowel sound, we use “e” or “u” instead. Take the conjunctions y (and) and o (or): in most cases, their use would seem relatively straightforward. But sometimes, they fall before words that begin with the same vowel sounds, as with y and Ignacio. To make pronunciation easier, we solve this by inserting a different sound, e.
This phenomenon isn’t unique to Spanish. The insertion of the consonant between the two vowels feels more phonetically satisfying in almost every language. In English, for example, we say “an” apple and not “a” apple, because the latter sounds unpleasant to an English speaker’s ear.
E vs. y follows a similar logic in Spanish. When vowels like y and o end up next to a twin vowel, e and u (respectively) must be used as a replacement.
In this article, we’ll review how to use e vs. y in Spanish. We’ll also go over some related points of grammar, such as o vs. u and when la changes to el in Spanish.
To understand when to use the e vs. y in Spanish, it helps to know about a phenomenon called “epenthesis.” This describes the insertion of a consonant sound between two vowels when those two vowels are not allowed to be together.
Recall how y is pronounced in Spanish. It makes a long /i/ sound, as in green or see. In Spanish, the letters i and y make an identical sound. There are a lot of words in Spanish that begin with i: impuesto, imagen, interes, ideal, irresponsible, infeliz, insoportable, etc.
When y + i end up next to each other in a sentence, the y will change to e.
| Original phrase | Must change to: |
| Tengo muchos pasatiempos y intereses.(I have many hobbies and interests.) | Tengo muchos pasatiempos e intereses. |
In the above example, the e has replaced y. The meaning remains unchanged; e means “and” in this sentence. But both the written sentence, as well as its pronunciation in spoken language, must change.
It sometimes takes a trained ear to distinguish when replacing the y with an e in Spanish. The pronunciation of y vs. e in Spanish is very similar. Listen carefully for when the double /i/ vowel combination occurs, then make the change. Note that this change is not based on spelling, but rather on pronunciation.
Many words that begin with the silent hi– often require the y to change to e, as well. Words like hijo, hilo, hinchar and higo.
| Original phrase | Must change to: |
| Me gusta el queso de cabra y higos.(I like goat cheese and figs.) | Me gusta el queso de cabra e higos. |
| El tobillo está magullado y hinchado.(The ankle is bruised and swollen.) | El tobillo está magullado e hinchado. |
Some words that begin with hi- may not require this change. Words like hierro and hielo will not change because they make a different vowel sound, like /yero/ and /yelo/. These are dipthongs, or combined vowel sounds.
| Original phrase | Must change to: |
| El edificio está hecho de concreto y hierro. (The building is made from concrete and steel.) | (no change) |
| Había nieve y hielo. (There was snow and ice.) | (no change) |
Another common conjunction in Spanish is o (or). When paired with the same vowel sound, the o will change to a u in both spelling and pronunciation. Look and listen for words that begin with the letters o or ho– in Spanish. These will be the ones to change.
| Original | Must change to: |
| ¿Era él o otra persona?(Was it him or another person?) | ¿Era él u otra persona? |
| ¿Estos muebles son para jardín o hogar?(Is this furniture for the garden or the home?) | ¿Estos muebles son para jardín u hogar? |
| Había siete o ocho personas.(There were seven or eight people.) | Había siete u ocho personas. |
E/y and o/u are not the only examples of epentheses in Spanish. The article la will change to el when it ends up next to a word that starts with the /a/ vowel sound. This can confuse a lot of Spanish language learners when it comes to matching articles and gender.
Agua (water) is feminine in Spanish. So, the obvious choice for the article would be la: la agua. But that is not actually correct, because the /a/ vowels are together and need to be broken apart. So, la is changed to el even though it does not match the gender of the noun.
| Original | Must change to: |
| la agua(the water) | el agua |
| la hambre(the hunger) | el hambre |
| la águila(the eagle) | el águila |
| la arpa(the harp) | el arpa |
Remember that some words can start with ha- because the “h” in Spanish is silent.
Knowing when to use e vs. y in Spanish is all about breaking up double vowel sounds when they occur. This means you have to have a good handle on pronunciation. Words like hielo (ice) and hierro (steel) have a diphthong that changes the pronunciation from /i/ to /ye/. E vs. y in Spanish and the other cases of double vowel sounds are good exercises to improve your listening and pronunciation skills.
