Following on from my last post - Is the Internet bad for Writers? and deploring the affect or is it effect? on my spelling and grammar yet again I found myself happily typing away only to be confronted with red wavy lines. This time I did have a reasonable excuse as it was one of those words that does tend to trip people up.
The word in question was recipe. Remembering the old adage I before E except after C I dutifully spelt it receipe. Then I realised it had an extra E in it. Foiled yet again. I had recently had an interesting conversation saying because there are so many exceptions that they no longer teach this rule in school. I for one am not surprised.
I remember when I was volunteering in a Basic Skills English class in order to help the students I spent a long time developing some crib sheets. Included amongst these were a list of many words that follow and do not follow the rule.
THE C IS THE KEY
The rule is I
before E except after C. Here are a few
words that show the C E I rule.
Ceiling Ceilings Conceit
Conceited Conceitedly Conceivable
Conceivably Conceive Conceived
Conceiving Conceives Deceit
Deceitful Deceitfully Deceive
Deceiver
Receipt Receipts Receive
Received Receiver Receivers Receives
This is quite a small list compared to others. If
you think of any more just add them.
DO
NOT worry if you get these wrong. It takes time to learn all the different
rules. The best way is to practise. Try and write one sentence for each of the
words above.
Remember the dictionary is your friend. So use it if there are any words you do not
understand.
Ones
that break the rule
A
very good rule to remember is I before E except after C.
However
there are several words that do not follow it.
Here are
some of them.
Odd
men out
Atheism Atheist Beige
Being
Eider Eight Either
Feign Feint Foreign
Forfeit Freight Heifer
Height
Kaleidoscope Leisure Neigh
Neighbour Neither Protein
Reign Reimburse Rein
Reincarnation
Reinstate Reiterate Sleigh
Sleight Sovereign Surfeit
Their Veil Vein
Weight Weir Weird
Try practising
these odd ones out by writing a sentence for each
of them. Do not forget to look up any words you do not
know in
The dictionary.
Oooer that’s peculiar!
The English
Language has some very strange ways of spelling. Sometimes it developed due to different
dialects. Sometimes we borrowed foreign words. Sometimes the speller seems to
have forgotten to use any vowels.
Whatever its origin here’s some that are sure to trip you up.
Aardvark Caesar Czar
Fjord Gnat Gnaw
Gnome Gypsy Knife
Knight Llama Lynch
Lynx Lyre Lyric
Mnemonic Myopia Myriad
Myrrh Myrtle Mystic
Myth Nylon Nymph
Oyster Paediatrics Psalm
Pseudonym Psychic Psychology
Pygmy Pyjamas Pylon
Pyramid Pyre Pyrotechnics
Python Rhyme Rhythm
Rye Satyr Sly
Sycamore Sycophant Syllable
Syllabus Syllogism Sylph
Sylvan Symbol Symmetry
Sympathy Symphony Symposium
Symptom Synagogue Synchronise
Syncopate Syndicate Syndrome
Synod Synonym Synopsis
Syntax Synthesise Syphilis
Syringe Syrup System
Thy Thyme Thyroid
Tsar Tycoon Type
Typhoon Typical Typify
Typography Tyrant Tyre
Tzar Vaccinate Vacuum
Wry Xenophobia Xerography
Xylophone Yacht Zephyr
This list is not complete but you should have fun
with them. Try using them in hangman,
especially the ones without vowels. It’s sure to fox your opponent!
Bark/barque Beach /beech Bean/been
Bail/bale Baited/bated Bare/bear
More Literary Trip Ups - Homophones
A
A
Allowed/aloud Ante/ anti Arc/Ark
Ate/eight
B
Bark/barque Beach /beech Bean/been
Bail/bale Baited/bated Bare/bear
Beat/Beet Beau/bow Bell/belle
Beret/berry/bury Bite/byte Blew/blue
Bloc/block Boar/Boor/bore Board/bored
Bough/bow Boy/buoy Bread/bred
Broach/brooch Burger/Burgher Bus/buss
But/butt Buy/by/bye Buyer/byre
C
Cache/cash Caddie/caddy Cast/caste
Caught/court Caw/core Cede/seed
Cell/sell Cellar/seller Cent/sent
Cereal/serial Censor/sensor Cheap/cheep
Check/cheque Chilli/chilly Chord/cord
Cite /sight/site Clause/claws Coarse/course
Coffin/coughing Colonel/kernel Conker/conquer
Conga/conger Coop/coup Cops/copse
Corps/corpse Could/cud Council/counsel
Creak/creek Cue/queue Currant/current
D
Dam/damn Deaf/death Dew/due
Die/dye Dike/dyke Dine/dyne
Disc/disk Doe/dough Draft/draught
Draw/drawer Ducked/duct
E
Eerie/eyrie Ewer/your
F
FA/far Fair/fare Faint/feint
Fate/fete Faun/fawn Feat/feet
Few/phew File/phial Fin/thin
Fir/fur First/thirst Flair/flare
Flea/flee Flour/flower For/fore/four
Fort/fought/thought Foul/fowl Franc/frank
Free/three Friar/fryer Frill/thrill
G
Gael/gale Gaol/jail Genes/jeans
Gin/Jinn Gilt/guilt Gnaw/nor
Grill/grille Grate/great Groan/grown
H
Hail/hale Hair/hare/heir Hart/heart
Hay/hey Hear/here Heard/herd
Higher/hire Hoarse/horse Hole/whole
Hour/our
I
Idle/idol In/Inn Ion/iron
K
Knave/nave Knot/not Know/no
L
Lac/lack Lair/layer Lap/Lapp
Law/lore Lay/Ely Lead/led
Liar/lyre Lie/lye Loan/lone
Loch/ lock Loot/lute
M
Made/maid Mail/male Main/mane
Mare/mayor Mask/masque Maize/maze
Meat/meet Mina/miner/minor Missed/mist
Moan/mown Moor/more Morn/mourn
N
Night/knight
O
Ode/owed Oar/ore
P
Packed/pact Pain/pane Pair/pare/pear
Paired/pared Paw/pore/pour Peace/piece
Peal/peel Peer/pier Per/purr
Plain/plane Pride/pried Put/putt
Paired/pared Paw/pore/pour Peace/piece
Peal/peel Peer/pier Per/purr
Plain/plane Pride/pried Put/putt
R
Rain/reign/rein Read/red Read/reed
Real/reel Rear/Rhea Rest/wrest
Right/rite/write Ring/wring Roe/row
Role/roll Rote/wrote Rough/ruff
S
Sac/sack Sail/sale Saw/sore
Scene/seen Sea/see Seam/seem
Sear/seer Seek/Sikh Set/sett
Shake/sheikh Sign/sine Slay/sleigh
So/sow Soar/sore Sole/soul
Some/sum Sort/sought Spa/spar
Spits/Spitz Spoor/spore Stair/stare
Stake/steak Steal/steel Step/Steppe
Stile/style Storey/story Suite/sweet
Sundae/Sunday
T
Tail/tale Tare/tear Taught/taut/tort
Tea/tee Team/teem Tear/tier
The/thee Their/there/they’re Threw/through
To/too/two Toe/tow Tong/tongue
Tor/tore/tour Tracked/tract Trough/troth
Trussed/trust Ton/tonne Tuna/tuner
Tire/tyre
V
Vain/vane Vale/veil Vial/vile
W
Wails/Wales/whales Waive/wave Ware/wear/where
Waist/waste Wait/weight Want/won't
Warn/worn Watt/what Way/weigh/whey
Weak/week Weakly/weekly Weather/whether
Weir/we’re Wet/whet Whine/wine
Whined/wind/wined Which/witch Wield/wheeled
Wood/would
Y
Yoke/yolk You’ll/Yule
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