Die - dye

The verbs 'to die' (with an '-i-') and 'to dye' (with a '-y-') are sometimes confused. This is most common merely with spelling, and the variations in the different forms of the verbs.

• The verb 'to die', which is in opposition to 'to live', has the following forms:
  • base form die (with '-i-')
  • 3rd person singular present tense dies (also with '-i-').
  • -ing participle dying (with a '-y-', to avoid the ugliness of dieing, which is always a mistake.
  • past tense and -ed participle died (with '-i-').

You may want to see a note on the meanings of the noun 'a die'

The base forms of 'to dye', which means 'to change the colour of [usually fairly permanently]', are:

• • base form dye (with '-y-')
  • 3rd person singular present tense dyes (also with '-y-').
  • -ing participle dyeing (with an '-e-', to avoid confusion with the -ing participle of 'to die'.
  • past tense and -ed participle dyed (with '-y-').