Have you heard of the 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' English spelling rule?
If you look closely at the words in this list, you will notice that they all include the spelling pattern ie to spell the long /e/ sound. You might also notice that none of these words have the letter c directly before the ie pattern.
The 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' rule is a good way of getting started with spelling the long /e/ sound, but like with every spelling rule it has its exceptions!
Once you are confident with the words in the list, you can move onto rulebreakers and the six other ways to spell the long /e/ in English.
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field |
The sheep were let loose in the field.
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brief |
The instructions were too brief.
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chief |
The tribe elected a chief.
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grief |
His death caused terrible grief.
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relief |
There was great relief at the rescue.
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mischief |
That child is getting up to mischief again.
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niece |
My brother's daughter is my niece.
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piece |
Please may I have a piece of cake?
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siege |
The castle was under siege.
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priest |
The priest blessed the people.
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fierce |
The tiger was fierce.
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pierce |
Pierce the lid before cooking.
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achieve |
He wanted to achieve good grades in school.
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believe |
I can't believe she has married him.
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relieved |
She was relieved to hear her father was better.
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retrieve |
The dog ran to retrieve the ball.
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diesel |
This truck's engine runs on diesel fuel.
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hygiene |
Good hygiene keeps germs away.
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Spelling Practice: ie wordsDevelop better spelling habits with customized practice tools.
How to use:
Look and read the word.
Say the word. Click the speaker icon.
Cover the word.
Write the word.
Check your spelling.
Spelling Games: ie wordsPractice these words while playing fun and educational games.
Springtime Spelling
Spring into spelling!
Egg Hunt
Crack the eggs!
Word Search, small
The classic English word game.
Against the Clock
Spelling 'against the clock'.
Mayan Temple
Try the temple spelling puzzle.
Monkey Business
It's bananas!
Take a Spelling Test: ie wordsAssess your spelling skills with an interactive test.
Printable Activities: ie wordsPrint this word list for easy offline practice.
Handwriting Practice: ie wordsWrite these words to reinforce learning and improve recall.
"Spellzone is incredibly easy to access and caters for a wide range of abilities, which means you can use it throughout the school at a range of levels, making it fantastic value for money as a learning resource."
Anne Shisler, SENCO, City of London School for Girls
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