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Unit 21. The 'I' before 'e' rule – does it work?
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ie words

These words follow the famous 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' rule for spelling the long /e/ sound.

Notice there is no 'c' directly before the 'ie' in any of these words.

field 		The sheep were let loose in the field.
brief 		The instructions were too brief.
chief 		The tribe elected a chief.
grief 		His death caused terrible grief.
relief 		There was great relief at the rescue.
mischief 		That child is getting up to mischief again.
niece 		My brother's daughter is my niece.
piece 		Please may I have a piece of cake?
siege 		The castle was under siege.
priest 		The priest blessed the people.
fierce 		The tiger was fierce.
pierce 		Pierce the lid before cooking.
achieve 		He wanted to achieve good grades in school.
believe 		I can't believe she has married him.
relieved 		She was relieved to hear her father was better.
retrieve 		The dog ran to retrieve the ball.
diesel 		This truck's engine runs on diesel fuel.
hygiene 		Good hygiene keeps germs away.

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Other lists from Unit 21. The 'I' before 'e' rule – does it work?

cei words
ei saying /ay/ This list contains British English spellings
ei saying /ay/ This list contains American English spellings
ie and ei words: rulebreakers

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