Spelling mistakes can be

anything from a minor embarrassment

to a failed exam.

And actually, spelling is one area where

native English speakers commonly make mistakes too.

They can definitely make improvements!

Since English is not phonetic, it takes years and years

for native English speakers to learn how to

spell words correctly

and even when we finish school,

there are often a few words that keep confusing us

all the way through adulthood.

In this lesson, we'll look carefully

at the spelling of words that include ie and ei.

But before we do, I want to introduce you to the

mmmEnglish Imitation Technique,

lessons designed to improve your English pronunciation

and expression to help you build your confidence

as an English speaker.

Lesson packs are available right here,

so if you want to improve your spoken English with me,

you can do it just by clicking that button.

Okay, let's take a look at these words

achieve, believe and peace.

Now these words are sometimes misspelled like this,

with E before I.

And it's an easy mistake to make.

In fact, phonetically, it kind of makes more sense.

Words with I and E or E and I

often cause spelling headaches.

Still to this day, I remember the little rhyme

that my grade two teacher taught me,

"I before E except after C"

which is a really handy way of remembering the spelling

of these words.

The letter combination, ie, is more common than ei.

It just appears more. In fact, ei is quite rare really.

But there are some very common everyday words

that use ei.

And many of them follow a C, like the verb receive.

It's a perfect example of I before E except after C.

Receipt is another, ceiling, deceive, preconceive.

So that little rhyme, it's useful

... sometimes.

But if you live your life by this rule,

you'll make spelling mistakes for sure!

So as always, there are exceptions.

I feel like English is the language of exceptions.

In actual fact, the rule "I before E, except after C"

usually is only relevant when the vowel sound

represented by the ie is the long E sound.

Receive.

Receipt.

Ceiling.

Deceive.

Preconceive.

Okay, now are you ready for the exceptions?

Words like ancient, efficient and science,

sufficient are exceptions to the rule.

"I before E except after C" doesn't work here.

And that's because the vowel sound represented by ie

is not E.

Ancient.

Efficient.

Science.

Sufficient.

And the ei combination can follow other consonants,

not just C.

Their.

Foreign.

Weird.

Leisure.

Height.

Neighbour.

Weigh.

Vein.

And feisty.

How is it possible that this little combination of letters

is so difficult?

ie or ei - it's the source of confusion for English learners

and many, many native English speakers too.

So if you're having trouble with these spelling rules

keep this lesson in mind.

The "I before E, except after C" rule

is a really, really helpful rule to remember.

But it only really applies when the ie is pronounced as E.

Well I hope that you got some handy tips

out of this lesson. I expect no more spelling mistakes

on my Facebook page

or here in the comments below this video.

Don't forget to check out

the mmmEnglish Imitation Lessons right up here.

You can definitely try out a free one

by clicking that link right there as well.

Or keep working on some grammar skills

with this lesson right here.

Thanks for watching and I will see you

next week for another lesson.

Bye for now!