EY

Usually long e at the end of a word — key, money, honey. A smaller group says long a: they, grey, obey.

Vowel teams

ey TEAM_EY_01

Useful pattern · Medium reliability · Occasional · Intermediate · Reading

• /iː/ long e: key, money, honey
• /eɪ/ long a: they, grey, obey

Where Wiggler teaches it: Skill 9: Vowel Teams (Long)

Child explanation

Ey usually says /iː/ at the end — key, money, monkey. In they and grey it says /eɪ/.

The rule

Ey at the end of a word is usually long e. A smaller set — they, grey, obey, survey, convey — is long a.

What is really going on

The /iː/ group is much larger and includes almost every two-syllable word ending in -ey. The /eɪ/ group is small and closed, and they is by far its most frequent member, so it is usually learned as a sight word long before ey is taught.

Position in the word

• End of a word — Effectively the only position. For example: key, money, they, grey.

Examples

Easy examples

key, money, honey, they, grey

More examples

monkey, donkey, turkey, valley, chimney, journey, hockey, obey, survey, prey

Pseudo-words

Made-up words that follow the rule. A child who reads these has the pattern rather than the vocabulary.

blimey, shoney, frey

Contrast pairs

• key versus they — The two values of ey.
• money versus grey

Teacher note

Introduce with the final-y rule — happy, monkey, valley all end with the same /iː/ and only the spelling differs. They is best left as a heart word; children learn it long before anyone teaches ey.

Related rules

• The letter Y — y — The clearest case in English of position deciding sound. Y is a consonant at the start of a word and a vowel everywhere else — and which vowel depends on how many syllables the word has.
• EE — ee — Long e, in any position, with essentially no exceptions. The single most reliable vowel team in English.
• Heart words — the · was · said · come · some — Words with one part that cannot be decoded. Sound out the part that works, and learn by heart only the part that does not.

• Previous in Vowel teams: IE — ie — Long i at the end of a short word — pie, tie, lie — and long e in the middle of a longer one: chief, field, believe.
• Next in Vowel teams: EI and EIGH — ei / eigh — Long a in eight, weight and neighbour; long e in ceiling and receive. Small, awkward, and best taught as two word lists.
• All reading rules

Give your child a reading buddy.

To read with every step of the way.

The reading buddy that listens. Structured, personalised phonics for ages 4 to 10, in joyful minutes a day.

Contact: hi@wigglerjr.com

• Curriculum
• How it works

• All guides
• Blog

• Our mission
• Become a partner
• Become a teacher

• FAQs
• Child Safety
• Privacy
• Terms
• Delete account

DPIIT recognised startup. Government of India.

© 2026 Wiggler Pvt. Ltd. Made in India with