Spelling Help - Little Ways Of Remembering, Inspired by the practice or practise thread Options

[Tequila]

The one I always use, along with practice/practise, advice/advise is 'I before E except after C'.

Apart from in the word 'weird'. Rather weird, that, isn't it?! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

Not really if you remember the last bit of the rule which is" ... when the sound is that of an E."

But that doesn't work! What about the word 'believe', for example? I'm sure there are dozens I could come up with without even thinking about it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

What? believe follows the rule!! I before E (Except after C) when the sound is that of an E.
the ie in believe does not follow a C and makes an ee sound. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) to you too.

Big Elephants Can't Always Use Small Exits - Because.

I learnt this through teaching and I like this one (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[HelenVJ]

Not sure I get this rule.. What about pie, die, fie etc? The sound isn't that of an ee? Or have I misunderstood? Sorry if I'm being a bit dim (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif)

[Holz Gedeckt]

Not sure I get this rule.. What about pie, die, fie etc? The sound isn't that of an ee? Or have I misunderstood? Sorry if I'm being a bit dim (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif)

That makes two of us.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

[Roseau]

Not sure I get this rule.. What about pie, die, fie etc? The sound isn't that of an ee? Or have I misunderstood? Sorry if I'm being a bit dim (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif)

I teach English pronunciation to foreigners so am looking at things the other way round (ie how do you pronounce a word with a given spelling). I would have to go and check my lesson notes to be absolutely certain of this but basically:
The pronunciation of vowels depends on the letter(s) which come after them.
It also depends on how many syllables there are in the word.
No English* word finishes with an "i" so an "e" is added to the end of words like "pie" but doesn't change the pronunciation of the "i".

*Hi doesn't count because it is an abbreviation and words like taxi have a foreign foreign origin.

Not that this particularly helps with the spelling since you can write "dye" (albeit with a different meaning) and an alternative spelling of hi would be high (not "hye").

[Crotchetymum]

...and skein and inveigle and feint and.. any others ? Oh - feign..deign.. heinous..height.heifer..leisure.. etc .

Not that good a rule, then. Perhaps one to forget? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Neigh.. neighbour.. seize.. Anyone fancy a game of scrabble?

either.. neither.. weigh (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif)

My husband was taught a longer version of the usual saying. I can't remember it exactly, but roughly it goes

i before e except after c
or where the sound is an 'a' as in neighbour or weigh.

So that covers some of the above, though not all!

Stationery has an 'e' for envelope.

Thank you! I've never been able to remember which one is which

Another one for rhythm I can still many years later from my school music teacher:

rejoice heartily your teacher has measles

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

I only learnt 'rhythm helps your two hips move' when my son went to secondary school, and I always use it otherwise I get lost with the hs and try and put an 'n' on the end (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[BerkshireMum]

Stationery has an 'e' for envelope.

Thank you! I've never been able to remember which one is which

I remember "stationery" by analogy with all the other things we buy: confectionery, grocery, haberdashery, etc In each of these cases, there's just a "y" on the end of the person who would sell the goods.

"Stationary" the adjective is like lots of other adjectives e.g. temporary, mercenary, imaginary. Adjectives have the "a" form.

Another pair of homonyms which lots of people mix up are principle (always a noun) and principal (usually an adjective, but confusingly used as a noun when applied to the head teacher!). I remember these because there is an "a" in the adjective form.

[HelenVJ]

That is a good way, Berkshire Mum - tho' it does assume that the dodgy speller knows the difference between an adjective and a noun.

By the way, 'principle' and 'principal' are homophones rather than homonyms - eg soar/sore/saw are homophones because they sound the same. A homonym is a word that is pronounced and spelled the same way but has a different meaning - eg 'present'. 'Please be present when we present the present' !

Teaching English is fraught with these problems.

(By the way, a homograph is a word spelled the same but can be pronounced' differently eg 'row'. 'We had a row about who would row the boat'. The middle 'present' in the sentence above is a homophone, as it's pronounced with a different emphasis. )

Enough (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif) already!

[chocolatedog]

...and skein and inveigle and feint and.. any others ? Oh - feign..deign.. heinous..height.heifer..leisure.. etc .

Not that good a rule, then. Perhaps one to forget? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Neigh.. neighbour.. seize.. Anyone fancy a game of scrabble?

either.. neither.. weigh (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif)

Curious how many different ways 'ei' can be pronounced!

also how many ways "-ough" can be pronounced too - as in cough.... bough...... though..... thorough...... through.... thought..... dough.....



Stationery also has an "e" like "envelope" whereas stationary has the "a" that's in the middle of "stand".

[Tortellini]

Has anyone mentioned the word "separate" yet?

There is a rat in the middle of it.

True but that's not the part people usually get wrong! My English teacher always said to think of separate keep things APART to avoid writing seperate.

[Maizie]

principle (always a noun) and principal (usually an adjective, but confusingly used as a noun when applied to the head teacher!).

I remember a book I read as a child, it was American, and in it the character remembered how to spell principal because the "school principal is your pal", that's what she'd been told (but she was somewhat dubioius about him actually being her pal (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif))

Relevant always gets me. For some reason I want to make all the vowels e, relevent, even though I know it's wrong I do it often enough that it confuses me as to which is actually correct.

[Tequila]

Not sure I get this rule.. What about pie, die, fie etc? The sound isn't that of an ee? Or have I misunderstood? Sorry if I'm being a bit dim (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif)

That makes two of us.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

The rule is to help you remember which way to put the i and e when making an ee sound in spelling so pie etc don't follow the rule as the sound is an I not an ee.

[fiddle_freak]

NECESSARY

= Never Eat Cheese Eat Salmon Sandwiches And Remain Young

It has got me through some rough times...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[HelenVJ]

Not sure I get this rule.. What about pie, die, fie etc? The sound isn't that of an ee? Or have I misunderstood? Sorry if I'm being a bit dim (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif)

That makes two of us.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

The rule is to help you remember which way to put the i and e when making an ee sound in spelling so pie etc don't follow the rule as the sound is an I not an ee.

Oh! So how does 'seize' fit into that? Or 'heinous'? I'm sure there are others.

[false_harmonic]

The word "difficulty" - (not that it's actually a difficult word!) Mrs D,Mrs I, Mrs F-F-I, Mrs C, Mrs U, Mrs L-T-Y. Got that from Roald Dahl's Matilda when I was five. Even now, I still think the word in that rhythm when spelling it!

[thouston]

Stalactite has a C in it as it Comes down from the Ceiling.
Stalagmite has a G in it as it Grows up from the Ground.