We investigate the effects of spontaneously generated coherence （SGC） on both the steady and transient gain properties in a four-level inverted-Y-type atomic system in the presence of a weak probe, two strong coherent fields, and an incoherent pump. For the steady process, we find that the inversionless gain mainly origins from SGC. In particular, we can modulate the inversionless gain by changing the relative phase between the two fields. Moreover, the amplitude of the gain peak can be enhanced and the additional gain peak can appear by changing the detuning of the coupling field. As for the transient process, the transient gain properties can also be dramatically affected by the SGC. Compared to the case without SGC, the transient gain can be greatly enhanced with completely eliminated transient absorption by choosing the proper relative phase between the two fields. And the inverted-Y-type system with SGC can be simulated in both atomic and semiconductor quantum well systems avoiding the conditions of SGC.
