Question

Cuando usas "e" en vez de "y"? cuando usar "u" en vez de "o"?

Answer 1

The answer to the question: ¿cuándo usas "e" en vez de "y"? ¿cuándo usar "u" en vez de "o"? is:

• The vowel "e" is used instead of the word "y" when the next mentioned word starts with the sound of the vowel "i" in Spanish.
• The vowel "u" is used instead of the word "o" when the next mentioned word starts with the sound of the vowel "o" in Spanish.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Spanish there are two very particular cases called:

1. Change of the word "y": which occurs when the conjunction "y" is transformed into "e", this occurs when:

• The following word begins with the sound "i", either by a word in Spanish or in a foreign language whose pronunciation also begins with that sound:

Example:

- Solo debes saber leer, tiempo e imaginación.

2. Change of the word "o": Occurs when the conjunction "o" becomes "u", this occurs because:

• The word that is used after the conjunction "o" begins with that sound.

Example:

- Prefieres dirigir u organizar.

Answer 2

You use “e” instead of “y” whenever the end or beginning of a word or phrase makes the same sounds as “y”. For example, “Juan e Isabel van al cine” differentiates the word “e” and the name “Isabel” as 2 words instead of one. If you were to say “Juan y Isabel”, it would come off as just “Juan Isabel” like it was his name.

Same goes for “u” in the same context. If I were to say “Yo quiero desayuno o almuerzo”, it would sound like I said “breakfast-lunch” instead of “breakfast or lunch”. So instead, we say “Yo quiero desayuno u almuerzo” to differentiate the words.