Where does "e" fit into Spanish Grammer?

Question

I keep reading the letter "e" being used in various sentences and I am not able to see what it represents (such as "y" meaning "and") or if it may be some sort of grammatical usage that I am not familiar with. Is this an expression used only in writing or do people often use it when speaking also?

Answer 1

Everyone always omits the ending of that rule for some reason.

The y becomes e before words starting with i or hi that have the same sound as the y (ee). If the i or hi does not have that sound you still use the y.

césped y hierba (hierba does not begin with the ee sound)

Y does not change before words, such as hierba, that begin with the y sound, regardless of spelling.

The rule is another of Spanish's rules dealing with phonetics like the one for el agua.

Good to know, thanks! - Sabor, Jul 9, 2011

Answer 2

Use ''e'' and not ''y'' when the next word starts with ''y'' or ''i''.

So yes, essentially in this case ''e'' means ''and''.

I hope this helps

Another change to note is: Use ''u'' and not ''o'' when the next word starts with ''o''.

In this case ''u'' / ''o'' means ''or''.

Thank you. - simpevets, Jul 9, 2011

Answer 3

E conjunction

1. and

e is used instead of y in front of words beginning with i or hi (e.g. apoyo e interés support and interest; corazón e hígado heart and liver). Copyright © 2006 Chambers Harrap Publishers Limited

Answer 4

E means the same as y. You know how in English you say an apple instead of a apple because 'apple' starts with a vowel? It's the same thing, you use e instead of y if the word after it starts with the y or i sound.

You might also see u used in place of o when the next word starts with o. I think it's less common than e instead of y, maybe because fewer words start with an o sound.

Hope this helps!

Good answer! - territurtle, Jul 9, 2011