'I' before 'E' and 'Q' followed by 'U'
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
i before e except after c
Most people know the spelling rule about i before e except after c, as in the following words:
-ie--ei-
achieveceiling
beliefconceit
believedeceit
chiefdeceive
pieceperceive
thiefreceipt
yieldreceive
The rule only applies when the sound represented is ‘ee’, though. It doesn’t apply to words like science or efficient, in which the –ie- combination does follow the letter c but isn’t pronounced ‘ee’.
Neither does the rule apply to any word without the ee sound, even when there is no cinvolved. For example:
-ei- (not pronounced ee)
beige
feign
foreign
forfeit
height
neighbour
vein
weight
There are a few exceptions to the general i before e rule, even when the sound is ‘ee’. Examples include seize, weird, and caffeine. There’s nothing for it but to learn how to spell these words, checking in a dictionary until you are sure about them.
Most people know the spelling rule about i before e except after c, as in the following words:
-ie--ei-
achieveceiling
beliefconceit
believedeceit
chiefdeceive
pieceperceive
thiefreceipt
yieldreceive
The rule only applies when the sound represented is ‘ee’, though. It doesn’t apply to words like science or efficient, in which the –ie- combination does follow the letter c but isn’t pronounced ‘ee’.
Neither does the rule apply to any word without the ee sound, even when there is no cinvolved. For example:
-ei- (not pronounced ee)
beige
feign
foreign
forfeit
height
neighbour
vein
weight
There are a few exceptions to the general i before e rule, even when the sound is ‘ee’. Examples include seize, weird, and caffeine. There’s nothing for it but to learn how to spell these words, checking in a dictionary until you are sure about them.
Q is always followed by a 'u'.
- Frequent
- Quiet
- Queen
- Quick
- Equipment
- Quit