Without ‘i before e’ won’t we all be at sea?

Am I the only one who is taking the decision to ban the ‘i before e’ rule a little too much to heart?

It’s been deemed too ‘confusing’ by the latest government guidance on National Primary Strategy for under-11s, since many words in the English language seem to disprove the rule.

But part of the satisfaction of the rule was the way it was learnt in stages – like a short spelling-based serial for kids. First there was ‘i before e’; then when we spotted holes in that theory, we learned ‘except after c’. As our vocabularies increased and more seeming exceptions sprang into view, we heard the all-important ‘but only when the sound is EE’.

Granted, if you look too far into the intricacies of this old rhyme you’ll find so many alternative endings that it seems to need its own bonus dvd.* But surely instilling in children the idea that there are some rules to this gargantuan new medium they’re faced with can only be a good thing.

So why not let under-11s keep to this simpler rule? They will discover the complications of ‘inveigling’, ‘seizing’, ‘financiers’, ‘geishas’ and ‘sheikhs’ in due course, as we all have to.

What do you think about this rule being thrown out? Did it help or hinder you at school? And do you have any rules that you remember from your school days? Let us know.

* Other versions include: ‘i before e except after c/or when sounded like a/as in neighbour and weigh’ and ‘drop this rule when -c sounds as –sh’.

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Author: Catie Holdridge

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Catie joined Emphasis with an English literature and creative writing degree and a keen interest in what makes language work. Having researched, written, commissioned and edited dozens of articles for the Emphasis blog, she now knows more about the intricacies of effective professional writing than she ever thought possible.

She produced and co-wrote our online training programme, The Complete Business Writer, and these days oversees all the Emphasis marketing efforts. And she keeps office repartee at a suitably literary level.