Mnemonic Rule for Spelling: 'i' before 'e' except after 'c', Exercises of English Language

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The correct spelling is receive. Hassan used a simple rhyme to help him to remember what to do when a word contains the letters ‘i’ and ‘e’ next to each other.

Mischievous Spellings

Spelling some words can be tricky. It’s not always obvious what order to put some of the letters in, especially when they don’t make the sound we are expecting them to. Let’s take this word as an example: I think it’s spelt resieve No, the ‘s’ is made by the letter ‘c’, so it must be recieve. No, there’s another rule: ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’, so it must be receive.

‘ie’ or ‘ei’? You Decide!

You have one minute to decide on the correct spelling of these words and write them on a whiteboard. Remember: ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’.

rec__pt n__ce c__ling

dec__ve ach__ve sh__ld

Timer

Let’s Review the Rules

Most words you encounter in day-to-day writing will use the ‘ie’ spelling pattern; however, it can make many different sounds. How many different sounds can you hear? lie thief review weigh friend

Let’s Review the Rules

If a word ends the with letters ‘i’ and ‘e’, it will always be the ‘ ie ’ spelling pattern. Here are some examples: lie pie tie But if a word begins the with letters ‘i’ and ‘e’, it will always be the ‘ ei ’ spelling pattern. Here are some examples: either eight

Sorry to Deceive You…

The letter ‘c’ is usually followed by the ‘ei’ spelling pattern but, as with every spelling rule, there are some sneaky exceptions… ancient glacier science These exceptions just need to be learnt.

Review

With all of the exceptions to the rule, it can be tricky to know when to use the mnemonic ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’. To give yourself the best chance of spelling a word correctly, remember this: Use the ‘i’ before ‘e’ if it makes the sound ‘ee’, and keep the ‘e’ after ‘i’ if the makes the sound ‘igh’. But if it makes the sound ‘ay’, ‘e’ goes first.