I Before E is Wrong
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (78761)
United States
October 1, 2022 7:06am CST
When we were kids in school, we were taught this little rhyme to help us with spelling certain words. "I before E, except after C."
But it doesn't work. There are many examples of words where this rule clearly does not apply. So, what it is, is a cute little rhyme and nothing more.
There are words like feign, for example. Sleigh, weigh and neighbor all disregard the rule. Words like reign, eight and weight tell the rule to pound sand too.
But the rule is also disregarded the other way around with words like glacier and fancier.
Perhaps the better way to remember the correct spelling is mostly how the word sounds. If it sounds like a long E, it is probably EI such as in words like perceive and conceit. Unless it is a word like yield. D'oh! If it sounds like a long A it is probably EI too such as in the word weight.
Egads.
Because the whole I before E is granted, quite weird, perhaps the best thing to do if you really don't know is simply throw out all the rules altogether and look the word up in the dictionary, and that should spell out the correct spelling.
I now have a new rhyme. I before E except after C is a poor way to spell indefinitely.
12 people like this
9 responses
@LindaOHio (156276)
• United States
1 Oct 22
I just learn how words are spelled; and I get along fine. I used to be the dictionary at many of the places that I worked. People would call me all the time to find out how to spell various words. The internet and a print dictionary work just as well for problematic spellings.
Yes, there are many exceptions; but I still like the rhyme.
2 people like this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
1 Oct 22
Like you, spelling for me has not posed too many problems. It was, for whatever reason, one of my strong points. Maybe it is the writer in me, or the editor in me, or my love of the English language, or just something I happened to have been born with. I don't know.
But I also spent a lot of time actually reading the dictionary when I was younger as well, in part because words fascinated me, and so did the use of other words in place of others to say the same thing in different ways.
The English language really is a fascinating language to me.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (156276)
• United States
2 Oct 22
@porwest I like a guy that can spell and write a coherent sentence! :-)
1 person likes this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
2 Oct 22
@LindaOHio I like to think I am one of those guys, although some may argue otherwise. lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118449)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Oct 22
I think with the advent of autocorrect on our phones and computers, nobody is going to know how to spell anything anymore. And if you get stumped on the spelling of a word, just ask Siri or Alexa and they'll figure out the correct spelling for you. Geez, now that I think about it, we don't even have to teach kids spelling in school anymore!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118449)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Oct 22
@MALUSE Well, for me personally, that wouldn't be a problem, I actually learned how to spell when I was in school 
And just in case I forget grammar and spelling, I also have more than one electronic device I can rely on. So if one gives up the ghost, I still have a few more I can access.
And just in case I forget grammar and spelling, I also have more than one electronic device I can rely on. So if one gives up the ghost, I still have a few more I can access.1 person likes this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
25 Feb 23
@moffittjc There are some days I do wonder.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43077)
• Staten Island, New York
1 Oct 22
Now I don’t know if it’s true or not but could the “i before e, except after c” rule apply to verbs only?
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43077)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Oct 22
@porwest I was trying to come up with a noun that follows that rule but couldn’t. But now I just thought of one—receipt.
But now I just thought of one—receipt.1 person likes this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
20 Feb 23
@lovebuglena It does take a little digging deep into the brain sometimes. lol
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34369)
•
8 Oct 22
OMG! I'm getting a headache 
Thank goodness for spell check 
Thank goodness for spell check 1 person likes this
@Nakitakona (56302)
• Philippines
8 Nov 22
Rules are rules but they're not absolute. There are exceptions to the rules.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (86769)
• United States
1 Oct 22
I like your rhyme much better than the rule.
1 person likes this
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
1 Oct 22
I taught English at secondary grammar schools in Germany. The pupils are 10/11 years old when they start learning it. I was always surprised how easily they learnt the illogical spelling of so many English words. They never asked why a word was written in a certain way. They just accepted it. Only grown-ups ask. Their brains don't accept things just like that. They need explanations. If the teacher can't come up with an explanation, they suspect incompetence.
Btw, 'indefinitely' is a word many native English speakers don't know how to write correctly. I don't know how often I've seen 'indefinately'. 
1 person likes this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
6 Oct 22
There are certain things people say too often that do grate me every single time I hear them used. "Irregardless" is one of them. It is either regardless or irrespective. It is often funny to me that so many people who are not native speakers do tell me that they don't find the language hard to grasp—it seems like it would be considering all the irks and quirks of it.
Comb and bomb is a good example of spellings that don't coincide with pronunciations. So are words like home and come.
