If I may answer this question, although I am not a native Spanish speaker, it is really simple. If the word following "y" starts with an "i" itself, the sentence becomes hard to pronounce and it changes to "e", that is all. Hablo neerlandés e inglés. Me gusta fresa y chocolate

That's nearly right! But actually "e" is not used if the following word starts with "i" but also "hi". In other words: "e" is used if the first sound of the following word is "i": Examples: Francia y Alemania. Escribir y hablar. Otoño e invierno. Aguja e hilo. Padre e hijo.

la palabra "y" se utiliza para unir dos palabras o frases, pero cuando la siguiente palabra a la "y" empieza por "i" se utiliza para unir las frases la "e" por ejemplo. creativo y imaginativo no se puede poner ya que despues de "y" viene la palabra imaginativo, que empieza por i..... esto en Español suena mal. Para solucionar este problema se utiliza "e" saludos

Like people have already said, "y" is usually used to say "and" but is replaced by "e" when the following words starts with an "i." What I would like to add is that there is another example of this in the Spanish language. "O" is usually used for the word "or" but is replaced by "u" when the following word begins with an "o."