Online Dictionary

Unit 21 - Spelling ie and ei words

One of the best known spelling rules is:

But does this rule really work? Is it true ALL the time?

The answer is:

As with most spelling rules, it works MOST of the time - but not always.
This Unit teaches you when to use ie and when to use ei.

First, take a look at these words. They all have the long // sound:

ie as in field	ei as in receipt
field shield wield yield brief chief grief belief relief mischief niece piece* bier* tier* pier* cashier siege shriek priest fierce pierce achieve believe relieved reprieve retrieve diesel hygiene	ceiling* receipt receive deceive conceive perceive conceit deceit
NOTES: 1) Words marked * are homophones. Please see page 9 2) The // 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. budgie movie nightie Mountie b) 'Pet' names e.g. Jackie Charlie auntie sweetie c) Slang words e.g. goalie rookie junkie walkie-talkie d) Other words e.g. calorie eerie genie prairie

Look at the words in each list. You will see that, for these words with the long // sound, this rule DOES work:

Go to next page: Some practice in these words.

Unit 21 : Page 1 of 9