ie before e - except when it is not
I got pointed to http://www.merriam-webster.com/video/0003-ibeforee.htm
Writing out what she says -
i before e except after c
or when sounded as ay as in neighbour and weigh,
or when it appears in comparatives and superlatives like fancier,
or when the c sounds as sh as in glacier, ( I don't pronounce glacier like that)
or when the vowel sounds like ee as in seize,
or eye as in height,
or in compound words like albeit,
or when it is in 'ing' inflections of verbs that end in e such as queueing,
or in technical words with strong etymological links with a parent language such as cuneiform and caffeine,
or in random exceptions such as science, forfiet and wierd.
I feel as a learning aid, the rule loses something
The Wiki entry is quite nice - I like the "I before e except after c, or when sounding like ay as in neighbor or weigh, and on weekends, and holidays, and all throughout May, and you'll always be wrong, no matter what you say"
Writing out what she says -
i before e except after c
or when sounded as ay as in neighbour and weigh,
or when it appears in comparatives and superlatives like fancier,
or when the c sounds as sh as in glacier, ( I don't pronounce glacier like that)
or when the vowel sounds like ee as in seize,
or eye as in height,
or in compound words like albeit,
or when it is in 'ing' inflections of verbs that end in e such as queueing,
or in technical words with strong etymological links with a parent language such as cuneiform and caffeine,
or in random exceptions such as science, forfiet and wierd.
I feel as a learning aid, the rule loses something
The Wiki entry is quite nice - I like the "I before e except after c, or when sounding like ay as in neighbor or weigh, and on weekends, and holidays, and all throughout May, and you'll always be wrong, no matter what you say"