English is weird! » spelling http://englishisweird.com Clever tricks to conquer the quirks of English Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:38:25 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 I before E, except in all these words http://englishisweird.com/i-before-e-except-in-all-these-words/ http://englishisweird.com/i-before-e-except-in-all-these-words/#comments Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:28:17 +0000 admin http://englishisweird.com/?p=118 In English, the spelling patterns ei and ie can both represent an "ee" sound. So how do you know which one to use? For decades, English teachers have repeated the adage, ‘When the sound is "ee", it’s I before E, except after C.’

But oops, that’s not quite true. You also have to memorize the following list of exceptions:

  • being
  • caffeine
  • codeine
  • deity
  • either
  • Keith
  • leisure
  • Neil
  • neither
  • protein
  • seize
  • sheikh
  • Sheila
  • species
  • weird

Then add to the list hundreds of words ending in -cy that can change to -cies or -cied, such as currencies or fancied. A good example is oneiromancies, which breaks the rule twice! It means using dreams to predict the future.

The British government has just cought caught on to this confusion and is now asking teachers to stop using this rule.

]]> http://englishisweird.com/i-before-e-except-in-all-these-words/feed/ 6 ‑ought or ‑aught? http://englishisweird.com/how-to-spell-words-ending-in-ought-and-aught/ http://englishisweird.com/how-to-spell-words-ending-in-ought-and-aught/#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 23:38:16 +0000 admin http://englishisweird.com/?p=3 For a long time, I’ve had trouble spelling English words that end in -ought and -aught.

So I made a big list. Most of these words are past participles.

-ought

  • buy > bought
  • bring > brought
  • fight > fought
  • seek > sought
  • think > thought
  • work > wrought†

-aught:

  • catch > caught
  • distract > distraught†
  • teach > taught

Notice a pattern?

†These past participles are based on older forms.

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