Home

English

Spelling

The ‘i before e except after c’ rule

The ‘i before e except after c’ rule

Videos

Summary

Exercises

Select Lesson

Speaking

How to debate

Performing a play script

Punctuation

Commas

Colons and semi-colons

Brackets, dashes and hyphens

Sentences

Active and passive sentences

Grammar

Subject and object

Modal verbs

The subjunctive form

Expanded noun phrases

Word endings

Words spelt with 'ough'

Words ending in the 'shus' sound

Words ending in the 'shul' sound

Words ending in -ant or -ent

Words ending in -ance, -ancy, -ence or -ency

Words ending in -able or -ible

Words ending -ably or -ibly

Spelling

Homophones and near homophones

Commonly misspelled homophones

Using prefixes

Using suffixes

Words with silent letters

Synonyms and antonyms

The ‘i before e except after c’ rule

Using hyphens

Writing skills

Structuring a story

Organisation: bullet points, lists and paragraphs

Genres of fiction and non-fiction

Linking words

Writing a précis

How to use a thesaurus

Writing process

Identifying your audience and purpose

Structuring a text: paragraphs, sentences, conjunctions

Editing your writing

Proofreading your writing

Reading comprehension

Identifying themes and conventions

Using inference

Making predictions about a text

Language and structure

Social and historical context

Summarising a text

Finding information in non-fiction texts

The difference between fact and opinion

Figurative language: metaphors and similes

Reading - text types

Poetry, drama and genres of stories

Types of non-fiction texts

Explainer Video

Tutor: Jonathan

Summary

The 'i before e except after c' rule

In a nutshell

'I' before 'e' except after 'c' is a common rhyme to help you spell correctly, however it is not that simple. In this summary, you will learn this rule as well as its exceptions.


 

Spelling rule

The common rule of thumb "'i' before 'e' except after 'c'" covers the correct spelling of many words. This works for words that make a 'ee' sound (like in see and bee).


'I' before 'e'


Examples
  • ​Piece
  • Field
  • Brief


Except after 'c'


Examples
  • ​Receive
  • Receipt



Exceptions

The rhyme does continue, stating "or when pronounced as 'a' as in neighbour or weigh."


Examples
  • Foreign
  • Protein
  • Seize                                  


Read more

Learn with Basics

Learn the basics with theory units and practise what you learned with exercise sets!
Length:
How to use a dictionary

Unit 1

How to use a dictionary

Jump Ahead

Score 80% to jump directly to the final unit.

Optional

The ‘i before e except after c’ rule

Unit 2

The ‘i before e except after c’ rule

Final Test

Test reviewing all units to claim a reward planet.

Create an account to complete the exercises

FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

What is the rule "'i' before 'e' except after 'c'"?

'I' before 'e' except after 'c' is a common rhyme to help you spell correctly.

Are there exceptions to the "'i' before 'e' except after 'c'" rule?

Yes, the most common being in neighbour and weigh.

©2020 - 2024 evulpo AG

Beta