MTEL Communication Literacy Skills Reading Practice Test 2025 – All-in-One Guide to Master Your Exam Success!

When a root word ends in 'y' and is preceded by a consonant, the appropriate transformation is to change the 'y' to 'i' when adding certain suffixes, particularly those that begin with a vowel. This rule applies to maintain the integrity of the word during the morphological change. For example, in the word "happy," if you wanted to add the suffix "-ness," it becomes "happi-ness." This alteration ensures clarity and phonetic consistency in English word formation.

The other options do not apply in this scenario. Dropping the 'y' would render the root unrecognizable or alter its meaning. Replacing 'y' with 'e' does not conform to standard English spelling rules, and leaving the 'y' unchanged is only appropriate in certain contexts where suffixes beginning with consonants are added. Therefore, the modification of 'y' to 'i' is the correct response in this case.