i before e
We’ve all heard it – i before e except after c. Unless it’s weird. Or foreign. Or height or weight, vein, neighbour, forfeit, feign…
It’s generally true when the e has an ‘ee’ sound, but not always. This is what Oxford Dictionaries has to say about the matter:
‘There are a few exceptions to the general i before e rule, even when the sound is ‘ee’. Examples include seize, weird, and caffeine. There’s nothing for it but to learn how to spell these words, checking in a dictionary until you are sure about them.’
So there you have it. English spelling is just a scam to sell more dictionaries.
On the plus side, I got 10/10 on the translating Britishisms quiz.
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