I before E ... / myLot

Staten Island, New York

May 1, 2021 4:34pm CST

I just remembered that there is a rule in the English language that says: i before e but not after c There are so many words in English where i comes after e. Neighbor, caffeine, sleigh, eight, etc... Does that rule apply only to verbs or something?

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4 responses

CarolDM

@CarolDM (203396)

• Nashville, Tennessee

1 May 21

This little phrase has stuck with me many times... i before e except after c or when sounded as 'a' as in neighbor and weigh

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Stacey

@xstitcher (39002)

• Petaluma, California

3 May 21

@CarolDM Me, too ! I always have trouble with "ie" words, and have to think of that little rhyme. Oh, but it doesn't apply to the word "Weird." I guess because it's--well, weird.

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Lena Kovadlo

@lovebuglena (52144)

• Staten Island, New York

1 May 21

when sounded as 'a' as in neighbor and weigh I've not heard of this one before.

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CarolDM

@CarolDM (203396)

• Nashville, Tennessee

1 May 21

@lovebuglena Has helped me many times.

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Anna

@LadyDuck (502148)

• Italy

2 May 21

It's just a rule of thumb that works most of the time.

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Anna

@LadyDuck (502148)

• Italy

4 May 21

@lovebuglena English is not always an easy language even for native speaking... imagine for us who are not native speaking.

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Lena Kovadlo

@lovebuglena (52144)

• Staten Island, New York

4 May 21

@LadyDuck I've read stuff written by native speakers where they say it's instead of its, their instead of there, etc.

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Lena Kovadlo

@lovebuglena (52144)

• Staten Island, New York

3 May 21

There are many words where i doesn't come before e which makes me wonder exactly in which instance the i before e rule applies.

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paigea

@paigea (36143)

• Canada

1 May 21

It applies to any word except the words where it doesn't.

, sorry. English is difficult sometimes. eigh is a pattern with many words. At school we label the others "jail" words and just teach children to identify the words that "break" the rule and practice them.