Typing lesson 5 of 17
Typing lesson 5: T and Y
T and Y are your index fingers’ reach up and toward the middle of the keyboard: T up and right from F, Y up and left from J. With them, 773 words in the word bank use only the letters so far, among them the, that, it and this.
Keys and fingers
- Pinky
- Ring finger
- Middle finger
- Index finger
- Thumbs (space bar)
- Pale: keys from earlier lessons
- Outlined: home keys
| Key | Finger | Where it is |
|---|---|---|
| T | Left index finger | Up and right from F |
| Y | Right index finger | Up and left from J |
How to practice
- Reach up and in. The index finger goes a little further than for R and U: up a row and one key toward the middle.
- Keep the hand still. The other fingers stay on the home row while the index finger reaches.
- Come back to the bump on F or J after each reach.
- Take common words slowly at first. Words like the, that and it will come up for the rest of your typing life, so it pays to type them the same careful way each time.
Practice words
773 words in the word bank use only the letters so far, and 436 of them have T or Y. The 40 most common:
- the
- that
- it
- this
- at
- they
- just
- their
- there
- get
- its
- after
- first
- these
- really
- right
- year
- years
- day
- still
- take
- say
- great
- last
- state
- three
- little
- left
- days
- let
- set
- start
- already
- yet
- tell
- states
- try
- yes
- later
- says
A round of this lesson, as the trainer writes it for a new typist. Each round draws new words, most of them with the new keys:
feet dress studies lights trade led letter draft guest rural alert hardly treaty dirty afraid heat there rest health guard
Common mistakes
- T and Y mixed up. The same finger on opposite hands. If you get one for the other, the wrong hand moved first.
- R for T, or U for Y. The same finger, one key short: T and Y are a little further in than R and U.
- Y with the left hand. Y belongs to the right index finger, even though it sits in the middle of the keyboard. The hands split between T and Y, G and H, and B and N.
- Losing the home row. A long reach can drag the whole hand along. Check the bumps if the next key comes out wrong.
Frequently asked questions
Which finger types T and Y?
Your index fingers. The left index finger types T, up and right from F, and the right index finger types Y, up and left from J.
Why do T and Y come after R and U?
They are the same fingers reaching further: up a row and across toward the middle. The lessons grow movement one step at a time, so the shorter reach up, to R and U, comes first.
How do I pass lesson 5?
Type a round at 95% accuracy or better in which both T and Y were typed right at least once. A lesson round is at most 30 words, and you can try again as often as you like: start lesson 5.
What comes after lesson 5?
Lesson 6 adds O and W. Once you pass lesson 5, the next round starts it, and you can go back to any lesson whenever you like.
