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Sometimes I need to change y to ies but for survey, it's not. So far as I know there are some other cases too.

Is there any "formula" I can follow for the plural form of words with -y?

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You're missing half of the rule.

Yes, you change -y to -ies but only if the letter preceding the y is a consonant.

If the word ends in a vowel plus -y, you just add an s.

a. If the word ends in a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) + y then just add s boy - boys, journey - journeys, key - keys, tray - trays, donkey - donkeys... Or we'd have too many vowels and a confusing word (key - keies)!!!

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  • 1
    is this a solid rule? no exceptions at all? – AGamePlayer Oct 13 '17 at 7:26
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    This is English -- There's always an exception. In British "bogey" is a piece of nasal mucus, plural bogies. – James K Nov 23 '20 at 20:46

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