Vie or Vye?

by Craig Shrives

Should I Write "Vie" or "Vye"?

"Vie" and "vye" are easy to confuse, but they shouldn't be because "vye" is now obsolete. "Vye" is the old form of "vie." However, the letter "y" still appears in "vying," which is the root of the confusion. For example:
  • Government rivals vie for power in Zanzibar.
  • A variety of former opposition parties are vying for power in the upcoming elections.
vie or vye?

More about "Vie" or "Vye"

The verb "to vie" means to compete with someone in order to achieve something. Of interest, the verb "to vie," which was popular in the 19th century, is getting less popular. [evidence]

Here are some example sentence with difference versions of the verb to "vie":
  • The government is heading for serious political instability as its rival party vies for power. correct tick
  • The top students in the class vied for the title of valedictorian. correct tick
  • The Japanese potters could never vie with the Chinese potters in the production of glazes. correct tick
  • The swimmers were vying for a place on team USA. correct tick

Conjugating the Verb "To Vie"

Here is the conjugation of the verb "to vie."
PronounPersonSimple PresentSimple Past
IFirst person singularvievied
YouSecond person singularvievied
He/She/ItThird person singularviesvied
WeFirst person pluralvievied
YouSecond person pluralvievied
TheyThird person plural vievied

Present Participle of "To Vie"

The present participle and gerund of "to vie" is "vying." It retains the "y" from the obsolete version. (Of interest, "to vie" is like "to lie," the present participle of which is "lying.")

Example sentences with "vying":
  • We are independent of the two factions that are vying for power. correct tick
  • I'm really interested in cliques. I like watching girls vying for attention. (New Zeland singer Lorde) correct tick

Ready for the Test?

Help Us Improve Grammar Monster

  • Do you disagree with something on this page?
  • Did you spot a typo?

Find Us Quicker!

  • When using a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing), you will find Grammar Monster quicker if you add #gm to your search term.