Spelling
🔒 Log in to tracki before e — and the exceptions that fill the paper
🔒 Log in to trackThe rule: write i before e when both spell the long 'ee' sound (believe, achieve, grief, field, shield); after the letter c, flip it — e before i (receive, deceive, perceive, conceive, ceiling). Extended mnemonic: i before e except after c, or when sounded like 'ay' as in neighbour and weigh (neighbour, weigh, eight). Height is different: its 'ei' sounds like 'eye', and it is simply an exception.
But the SSC paper lives in the exceptions. The high-frequency exceptions are: weird, seize, height, foreign, sovereign, leisure, either, neither, their, counterfeit, protein — memorise as a 10-word list; they appear as options constantly.
i/e and e/i words
| Correct | Trap spelling | Hook |
|---|---|---|
| believe | i before e when it rhymes with 'long e' (bel-eve) | |
| achieve | same rule: -ieve | |
| friend | exception remembered as: fr-I-End — it ends with END | |
| mischief | short-i sound, still ie: -mischief | |
| receive | after c the order flips: e before i | |
| deceive | c + eive | |
| perceive | c + eive | |
| conceive | c + eive | |
| ceiling | c + eiling | |
| ceiling fan | the c governs: ei | |
| weird | famous exception: ei, no c needed | |
| seize | exception: seize the ei | |
| height | exception: h-eight (compare weight) | |
| weight | ei like height — they rhyme and match | |
| foreign | exception: foreign keeps ei | |
| sovereign | same family as foreign: -reign | |
| leisure | exception: lei-sure | |
| either | ei family | |
| neither | ei family | |
| their | possessive of they: ei (th-eir) |
Exam shape: four spellings of the same word, one letter shifted. Read the options letter by letter — the difference is almost always one vowel pair: recieve/receive, wierd/weird. If the word follows 'c', demand 'ei'; if it doesn't, demand 'ie' — then check the exception list.
The rule is about sound, not letters
'i before e except after c' only works for the long 'ee' sound. Say the word first, then apply the rule:
- 'ee' sound, no c before it -> ie: believe, achieve, relieve, retrieve, grief, field, niece, piece, siege, yield, shriek, brief.
- 'ee' sound straight after c -> ei: receive, deceive, perceive, conceive, ceiling, receipt, deceit, conceit.
- 'ay' sound -> ei: neighbour, weigh, weight, eight, vein, rein, reign, beige, freight, sleigh.
- 'eye' sound -> ei: height, sleight, and one pronunciation of either and neither. Most spelling mistakes come from applying the c-rule to a word that does not have an 'ee' sound.
When c is followed by ie
Two groups break the simple 'after c' rule, and papers use both:
- c sounds 'sh' — here 'ci' together makes the 'sh' sound, and the e belongs to the next sound: ancient, efficient, sufficient, proficient, deficient, deficiency, conscience, species. Every word ending in -cient or -ciency is in this group.
- i and e are in separate syllables — sci-ence, so-ci-e-ty, fan-ci-er. The rule only covers ie/ei as one sound. So 'proficient' is correct and 'proficeint' is wrong, even though the letters come after a c.
The exceptions worth learning
These have the 'ee' sound (or no clear sound) but still take ei with no c:
- seize, weird, protein, caffeine, either, neither — 'ee' sound, ei spelling.
- leisure, foreign, sovereign, forfeit, counterfeit, heir, their — ei with other sounds.
- friend keeps ie even though it has a short 'e' sound; mischief and sieve keep ie with a short 'i'. Learn them as one short list; the rest of the ie/ei words follow the sound rule.
Words built from a base keep the base spelling
Longer words keep the ie/ei of the base word: achieve -> achievement, relieve -> relief, grieve -> grievance -> grievous, receive -> receipt -> receptionist, deceive -> deceit -> deceitful, perceive -> perception. If you know the short word, you know the long one. Note that 'receipt' also keeps a silent p (from Latin recepta), which is often dropped.
How the options are built
Setters usually give four versions of one word:
- the correct spelling,
- the ie/ei swap (recieve),
- the swap plus another slip (reciept),
- a sound-spelling (receve, retreeve). Find the ie/ei spot first, check whether a c is right before it, then check the sound. The other slips usually rule themselves out.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Long 'ee' with no c: ie
The options differ only in ie/ei and the letter before the pair is not c (achieve, retrieve, grievance, niece).
Say the word — the pair makes an 'ee' sound.
Check the letter before it: not c.
Choose ie; reject sound-spellings like 'retreeve'.
Why it works: for the 'ee' sound, ie is the default spelling.
Retrieve / Retreive / Retrive / Retreeve
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Retrieve — 'ee' sound after r, so ie.
Straight after c: ei
The ie/ei pair comes directly after a c (receipt, deceit, perceive, ceiling).
Confirm the c is directly before the pair.
Confirm the 'ee' sound (re-CEIPT, de-CEIT).
Choose ei, and check for extra letters (the silent p in receipt).
Why it works: the 'except after c' part of the rule is reliable for the 'ee' sound.
Receipt / Reciept / Receit / Reciet
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Receipt — after c the order is ei, and the silent p stays.
ei exceptions with no c
The word is from the exception list: seize, weird, foreign, leisure, sovereign, counterfeit, forfeit, protein.
Recognise the word as an exception.
Choose ei even though there is no c.
Check the rest of the word (foreigner: -eign-, not -iegn-).
Why it works: setters pick these words because the general rule gives the wrong answer.
Seize / Sieze / Seeze / Siese
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Seize — an 'ee' word with ei and no c; it is on the exception list.
c + ie when c sounds 'sh' (-cient, -ciency, species)
The word has a c followed by ie but the c sounds 'sh' or the i and e are in different syllables: proficient, deficiency, species, society.
Say the c: is it 'sh' (effi-SHENT) or part of 'sci-ence'?
If yes, keep ie after the c.
Reject options that force ei after the c (proficeint).
Why it works: the c-rule only covers the one-sound 'ee' pair; 'cie' with a 'sh' sound is a different letter group.
Proficient / Proficeint / Profficient / Proficent
Show solutionHide solution
Proficient — c sounds 'sh' (pro-FI-shent), so ie follows c, like efficient and ancient.
Shortcuts that save time
Is there a c right before the pair? c → 'ei' (receive). No c → usually 'ie' (believe). Ten exceptions override: weird, seize, height, foreign, sovereign, leisure, either, neither, their, protein.
height–weight rhyme and must match; believe–achieve match; receive–deceive match. Fix one of each pair forever and its partner comes free.
Pronounce the word slowly in your head — be-lieve, re-ceive. The mouth half-confirms what the eye doubts.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Applying the rule to 'height' and writing 'hieght' — it is on the exception list.
Writing 'sciense' — after c comes 'ie' here only because the c is in 'sci' pronounced 's' + long i: memorise con-science = con + science.
Missing that 'friend' is ie, not ei — it does not rhyme with 'long e' but the spelling is still ie.
Trusting sound alone: 'receve' sounds right but has lost the i entirely.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Say the word: the rule applies only to the 'ee' sound.
'ee' sound: ie, except straight after c (receive, ceiling, receipt).
'ay' sound -> ei (neighbour, weigh, reign); 'eye' sound -> ei (height).
c + ie when c sounds 'sh' (ancient, efficient, species) or i and e are separate syllables (science, society).
Exceptions: seize, weird, protein, caffeine, either, neither, leisure, foreign, sovereign, forfeit, counterfeit, heir, their; friend keeps ie.
Derived words keep the base: achievement, grievance, deceitful, receipt.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 7 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.