What does i before e except after c mean and can you give me a example?

It refers to common spelling of words with short I vowel sounds that are spelled with ie. Ex: friend (i before e) receive (except after c). This is a good general rule to follow, but keep in mind it doesn't always apply.

What does i before e except after c mean and can you give me a example?
When spelling something, the letter i goes before the letter e, unless there is a c in the word somewhere before the i %26amp; e. Of course, the rest of the rhyme goes "or when sounded like a as in neighbor and weigh."





Believe (i before e).


Receive (because there is a c before the e %26amp; i).


Neighbor (because the ei sounds like a).
Reply:I before E = Niece.


Except after C = Receive


or sounding like A as in Neighbor or Weigh.
Reply:Generally in English spelling, when an 'i' and an 'e' appear together, it is as 'ie' (eg believe), unless they're following a 'c' (eg conceive). There are exceptions, though, such as 'veil'
Reply:its a rule of thumb for spelling, telling you usually if an i and an e are next to each other in a word, that i usually will come first. there is also a second line that i am unsure of the actual words, but i'll fake it and you'll never know.





i before e, except after c, and also in a, like in (technically there should be a word here with an ei in it, but i learned this thing from talespin 15 years ago) or weigh
Reply:Every grammer rule is an exception, but generally after the letter c, i will come before e.





like: concieted or reciept
Reply:It's a spelling aid. An example would be the spelling of the word receive.
Reply:It's a little ditty to help people remember how to spell certain words. The whole thing is, ".. i before e, except after c, or when it sounds 'a' as in neighbor and weigh..'


Examples?


deign, reign. - both have the 'a' sound


tied, thief, brief, grief, etc. all have the i before the e
Reply:i before e means words like retrieve. but except after c means words like receive.
Reply:"If the letter I you spy, Put the I before the E, Except after C."
Reply:It's just a saying to help you remember how to spell stuff. For instance:





friend - The letter i comes before the letter e to make "ie" blend.





receive - Notice that the e is before the i to make "ei". That's because they're after the letter c.





I actually learned it as I before E except after C and in weird words like 'weird'. Note the spelling of weird.