Spelling Words With EI and IE

The rule goes like this:

i before e, except after c

unless used as ay as in neighbor or weigh…

except, of course, for the exceptions

I Before E

I love taking my little niece for a walk.

We go for a walk in the field.

She has a mind like a sieve and forgets everything I tell her.

I believe she is my favourite person.

Except After C

The man’s only purpose in life is to deceive his wife.

Did you receive my letter yet?

There’s a spider up on the ceiling.

Margaret can’t even conceive of foregoing the party to finish her paper.

Unless Used As Ay As In Neighbor Or Weigh

Did you just eat eight cookies?

In the winter, it’s nice to go for a sleigh ride.

Aunt Gemma likes to talk about her varicose veins.

That is one long freight train that’s blocking the railway crossing.

Except For The Exceptions

There are a lot of exceptions to this rule. If you’re not sure, it’s best to look up the spelling in a dictionary. Here is a list of some of them:

seize, either, weird, height, foreign, leisure, conscience, counterfeit, forfeit, neither, science, species, sufficient