They include:
grey, hey, obey, prey, they, trey, whey
convey, disobey, purvey, survey
The EY pair in they has a long A vowel sound, as in whey, obey, and convey.
Almost all of the words that end in AY with an "ay" sound (bay, day, hay, say) are at the end of a syllable. It is the AI words that often do not (gain, sail, maim). Other words that have a long A sound are spelled with EY, including obey, prey, and grey. Also words from French that end in E, EE, or ET have a long A sound, such as cafe, soiree, gourmet, buffet.
Here are a few words that have an ey ending that sounds like a: grey, hey, obey.
Yes, the word "acorn" has a long a sound, pronounced "ey-korn."
Although there are numerous proper nouns that are spelled EY and pronounced as a long E (Bentley, Cockney, Disney, Orkney, Meaney, Sibley), there are relatively few common words. * A few are -ey variants of -y spellings. The ones primarily spelled -ey that end in the long E sound include: abbey alley attorney baloney barley blarney burley (variant of burly) cagey chimney chocolatey chutney cliquey covey donkey doohickey fogey galley gamey gluey gooey gulley gurney hickey hockey hokey holey homey honey hooey horsey jersey jitney jockey journey key kidney lackey limey malarkey matey medley money monkey mosey motley odyssey orangey osprey paisley palfrey parley parsley phooey pokey pulley smiley storey (UK variant) surrey trolley volley
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The EY pair in they has a long A vowel sound, as in whey, obey, and convey.
Here are a five words that are spelled with 'ey' but are pronounced like long 'a': They- plural form of he, she, it. Hey- used as a greeting or to call attention. Bey- a provincial governor in the Ottoman Empire. Dey- the title of the governor of Algiers before the French conquest in 1830. Fey- supernatural; unreal; enchanted.
Almost all of the words that end in AY with an "ay" sound (bay, day, hay, say) are at the end of a syllable. It is the AI words that often do not (gain, sail, maim). Other words that have a long A sound are spelled with EY, including obey, prey, and grey. Also words from French that end in E, EE, or ET have a long A sound, such as cafe, soiree, gourmet, buffet.
Here are a few words that have an ey ending that sounds like a: grey, hey, obey.
Yes. The EY has a long A (ay) sound, as in prey and grey.
Yes. The EY has a long A sound (ay) as in grey and obey.
No. The EY is pronounced as a long A sound. (thay)
No. The EY in they has a long A sound (thay) to rhyme with hey, prey, and obey.
Yes, the word "acorn" has a long a sound, pronounced "ey-korn."
Although there are numerous proper nouns that are spelled EY and pronounced as a long E (Bentley, Cockney, Disney, Orkney, Meaney, Sibley), there are relatively few common words. * A few are -ey variants of -y spellings. The ones primarily spelled -ey that end in the long E sound include: abbey alley attorney baloney barley blarney burley (variant of burly) cagey chimney chocolatey chutney cliquey covey donkey doohickey fogey galley gamey gluey gooey gulley gurney hickey hockey hokey holey homey honey hooey horsey jersey jitney jockey journey key kidney lackey limey malarkey matey medley money monkey mosey motley odyssey orangey osprey paisley palfrey parley parsley phooey pokey pulley smiley storey (UK variant) surrey trolley volley
Most have the -EY ending in place of a -Y ending, and others are variants of existing words spelled with a Y. They include: abbey alley attorney baloney barley blarney burley (variant of burly) cagey chimney chocolatey chutney cliquey covey donkey doohickey fogey galley gamey gluey gooey gulley gurney hickey hockey hokey holey homey honey hooey horsey jersey jitney jockey journey key kidney lackey limey malarkey matey medley money monkey mosey motley odyssey orangey osprey paisley palfrey parley parsley phooey pokey pulley smiley storey (UK variant) surrey trolley volley