I before E, except after C

Spelling in English can sometimes be a bit tricky, and often needs some hard work and lots of practise to perfect.  Remember when we looked at homophones, homonyms and homographs and found that words can be spelt the same but have different meanings, spelt the same but have different pronunciation and pronounced the same with different spelling and meaning. Wow!  Just look at it as a challenge, English can be good fun and with perseverance you will get there!

Probably, the best known spelling rule in English is “I before E, except after C”.  This is a mnemonic, or learning aid to help people remember that if you are having a problem spelling a word that contains and “i” and an “e” in it, generally the “i” will come before the “e” unless it is preceded by a “c”.  Got it??  Okay I will give you a few examples that will make it much clearer.  Think of words like “believe”, “friend”, “achieve” and “thief”, the “i” comes before the “e”.  Then look at words such as “deceit”, “ceiling” and “receipt”, and sure enough because following a letter “c” they follow the rule and the “e” comes first.  This mnemonic has been around for a long time, indeed there is evidence to show its use in the mid 19^th Century.

However, some people believe that there are so many exceptions to this rule that it has little effect.  Certainly, there are many exceptions.  Taking only a few minutes I came up with “ancient”, “sufficient”, “science”, “surveillance” “leisure” and “neither”, and believe me that is just a drop in the ocean.

Recognising that the rule does not always fit, a longer version of this mnemonic had been developed by the late 19^th Century, which reads as follows: “I” before “E” except after “C”, or when sounded as “A”, as in neighbour or weigh.

Unfortunately, this still does not cover all the exceptions. What about “efficient”, “weird” or “caffeine”?   Part of the problem is that English has evolved over hundreds of years, taking influences from many dialects, so to try and apply a rule to all words just doesn’t work.  The “i” before “e” rule is ok, as long as it is taken as a very general, flexible rule that cannot be applied in a rigid fashion.  Look closely at the phrase: eight, weighty, weird, beige, neighbours – none of the words conform!!

I recently read a quote from Brian Regan:  “I before e except after c, and sounding like a in a neighbouring way, and on weekends and holidays and all throughout May. YOU'LL ALWAYS BE WRONG NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY!!!!”

Mmmm, perhaps he has a point??     

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