The Y at the end, two different vowels

1. 1
   sky/skaɪ/

   noun

   The space above you where clouds and stars appear.
2. 2
   try/traɪ/

   verb

   Make an effort to do something.
3. 3
   reply/rɪˈplaɪ/iAlso said riːˈplaɪ.

   verb

   Answer someone.
4. 4
   identify/aɪˈdentəˌfaɪ/

   verb

   Recognize who or what something is.
5. 5
   satisfy/ˈsætəsˌfaɪ/

   verb

   Make someone feel pleased.
6. 6
   happy/ˈhæpi/

   adjective

   Feeling or showing pleasure.
7. 7
   busy/ˈbɪzi/

   adjective

   Having a lot to do right now.
8. 8
   heavy/ˈhevi/

   adjective

   Weighing a lot.
9. 9
   story/ˈstɔːri/

   noun

   A tale about made-up events.
10. 10
    family/ˈfæməli/iAlso said ˈfæmli.

    noun

    Parents and their children.

The sentences

1. The sky looks clear enough for a walk.

2. Can I try this on before I buy it?

3. Sorry, I forgot to reply to your message.

4. Can you identify the bag you left behind?

5. It's hard to satisfy everyone in a big family.

6. I'm happy to help if you need anything.

7. Sorry, we're really busy right now, call back later.

8. This suitcase is too heavy to carry upstairs.

9. She told us a funny story about her trip.

10. We're visiting my family for a few days.

Pronunciation

• identify/aɪˈdentəˌfaɪ/

  The stress falls on the second syllable, "DEN", not on the opening "eye".

• satisfy/ˈsætəsˌfaɪ/

  The y rhymes with "fly", not with "see".

• busy/ˈbɪzi/

  Sounds like bizzy: short i, and the s comes out as a z.

• heavy/ˈhevi/

  The ea sounds like the e in "bed".

Good to know

small talk

Americans often open a conversation with a quick how are you or a comment on the weather before getting to the point. It's a greeting more than a real question, so a short, upbeat reply is expected.

tipping

In restaurants, tipping around 15 to 20 percent of the bill is standard and expected, since service staff often rely on tips as part of their income.

personal space

People in the US tend to keep more physical distance in everyday conversation than in many other countries, and stand roughly an arm's length apart when talking.

punctuality

Showing up on time, or just a few minutes early, is generally expected for appointments and meetings, even casual ones.

Questions

why do some words ending in y sound like eye and others like ee

It just depends on the word. Sky, try, reply, identify and satisfy end with the eye sound, while happy, busy, heavy, story and family end with the ee sound.

how do you say busy

It sounds like bizzy, with a short i and the s coming out as a z.

where's the stress in identify

The stress falls on the second syllable, DEN, not on the opening eye sound.