how can y sometimes be a vowel?

The letter ‘y’ is a consonant but it can imitate a vowel sound as:

short i in m’y’stery

long ‘e’ in wind’y’

long ‘i’ in fl’y’

In English, all words have either a vowel or a vowel sound. ‘Y’ can be used for this purpose, especially when there is no visible vowel present in a word.

The previous answers are correct – it’s part of the problem of having many languages sharing the same written alphabet – it has to be adapted. The letter ‘w’ is used as a vowel in some languages, eg Welsh, but in others is a ‘double vee’. Strictly speaking, w would be a semi-vowel in English, as when used in a word, the lips almost come together, but not quite.

I believe that it is only a vowel when it is the only possible vowel.

For example, if it’s in the word “sky” it is a vowel.

If it’s in the word “easily” it is not a vowel, but the e,a, and i are.

At the end of the word, the phonetic component shifts y to a vowel, while at the beginning of the (auh…) sound makes it a consonant.

Because in some words it sounds like other vowels. Like in the words: You, My, Why

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The Y’s sound like: U , I , I

When it is pronounced as a vowel (i.e. boY) it is considered a vowel.

When it is pronounced as a consonant (i.e. Yesterday) it is considered a consonant.

When it is pronounced like a long “i”, as in sky, fly, etc. or a long “e” as in slowly, surely, etc. “y” pronounced like “yuh” as in yellow is when “y” is considered a consonant.