Unit 21: The i before e rule – does it work?
Page 1 of 9
One of the best known spelling rules is:
But does it always work?
The answer is that as with many spelling rules, it works only some of the time. If you count all the borrowed words in our language, some sources say there are actually more exceptions to the rule!
| Listen to the sound: |
|
Look at the words in the table below. They all use the long /e/ sound and follow the rule. Use our icons to learn the words. Some will be tested in the next activity.
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||
| ie as in field | ei as in receipt | ||||||||||||||||
|
ceiling* receipt receive deceive conceive perceive conceit deceit |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
| NOTES: 1) Words marked * are homophones. Please see page 9 2) The /ē/ sound on the end of a word is usually spelled with the letter y but it can be ie. For example: a) Shortened words e.g.
b) 'Pet' names e.g.
c) Slang words e.g.
d) Other words e.g.
|
|||||||||||||||||
Look at the words in each list.
You will see that, for these words with the long /ē/
sound, this rule DOES work:
You have not completed Learn the Words activities for each word list on this page.
The Spellzone interactive course is intended to be used online and may not be printed.
"Thank goodness for Spellzone during this remote learning phase. The site is easy for students to navigate independently and they're really enjoying the activities and spelling games. You get an awful lot for your money with Spellzone. Really reassuring is the very prompt response with helpdesk queries. I've very rarely needed the helpdesk, but when I have, the issue has been addressed and sorted within a very short time."
Sarah Taggart, Oasis Academy Lord's HillConnect with us at: 
