Comments

1. Jennifer @ TN Mommy says:
   April 27, 2009 at 7:51 pm

   @ Kori@ hairstyles for girls:

   Trisha,

   This is funny. As an English major, writing in the blogging world is so different to me. Everyone doesn’t follow proper grammar, spelling, etc. rules. I am so conscious about what I write that most of my posts (and comments) are created in Word (for spell/grammar check which doesn’t always work and I don’t always agree with) because I don’t want to put out either that isn’t written correctly.

   I agree w/Kori. I’m teaching my second child to read and am having a creative time teaching my daughter when a “y” sounds like an “i” or an “e”. Also, yes! Why waste letters using them when they are silent?

   Reply
2. Christy aka The Write Gal says:
   April 25, 2009 at 4:45 pm

   Remember there are exceptions to every rule. The English language The English language is very hard indeed. I teach writing on the college level. Here is the rule and some exceptions. Unfortunately there are many exceptions.

   Rule : Write I before E
   Except after C
   Or when it sounds like A
   As in “neighbor” and “weigh”

   i before e: relief, believe, lien, chief, proprietary, field, yield
   e before i: receiver, deceive, ceiling, conceit, freight, eight

   Exceptions: seize, either, efficient, height, foreign, leisure, conscience, counterfeit, forfeit, neither, sufficient

   Reply
3. Amber@mamasmiracles says:
   April 25, 2009 at 7:57 am

   Ashley wrote:

   “Brian, what’s the i before e rule?”
   “I before e… always.”
   “What are you, an idiot, Brian?”
   “Well apparently.”
   So she explains it.
   “No, Brian. It’s i before e except after c and when sounding like a as in neighbor and weigh, and on weekends and holidays and all throughout May, and you’ll always be wrong no matter what you say!”
   That’s a hard rule. That’s a- that’s a rough rule.
   Brian Regan everybody!

   LOVE BRIAN REGAN!

   Reply
4. Ashley says:
   April 24, 2009 at 9:14 pm

   “Brian, what’s the i before e rule?”

   “I before e… always.”
   “What are you, an idiot, Brian?”
   “Well apparently.”
   So she explains it.
   “No, Brian. It’s i before e except after c and when sounding like a as in neighbor and weigh, and on weekends and holidays and all throughout May, and you’ll always be wrong no matter what you say!”
   That’s a hard rule. That’s a- that’s a rough rule.

   Brian Regan everybody!

   Reply
5. Shan says:
   April 24, 2009 at 8:08 pm

   @ Trisha-admin:
   Actually, the mnemonics are a great way to help people remember stuff. I still remember the poem I learned in second grade to help me remember how many days in each month. “Thirty days hath September, April, June and November….”

   And this one does make sense to help you remember the whole “I before E except after C” thing:
   @Liz
   “I before E except after C or sounding like A in the words neighbor or weigh…”
   if you think about it Their rhymes with air…so it is an “a” sound right?

   When all else fails, sound it out. I learned how to spell the word “together” when my 3rd grade teacher told us it was just the words “to”, ” get” and “her” with no spaces in between. To this day, when I write that particular word, I say “to get her” in my head.

   Reply
6. Shannon says:
   April 24, 2009 at 6:48 pm

   Prohomemaker.com wrote:

   As a former copy editor, I can attest that English is one of the most difficult languages, with very odd exceptions. “Receive” is another commonly misspelled word (along with “misspelled”)

   Don’t even get me started on AP Style.
   Harry

   Haha yeah I worked at a newspaper for 10 years and AP style is a lot different than what I learned in English. It was hard!

   Reply
7. Alicia says:
   April 24, 2009 at 4:08 pm

   haha… yes. You’ve been lied to. In fact, we all have. over… and over again.

   Reply
8. Gena says:
   April 24, 2009 at 4:08 pm

   Trisha-admin wrote:

   Liz wrote:
   I before e except after c or sounding like a in neighbor or weigh…
   if you think about it Their rhymes with air…so it is an “a” sound right?

   is it possible that now i am even MORE lost.

   Wow that lost me too.

   Reply
9. AJ @ A Little Bit Nutty says:
   April 24, 2009 at 3:50 pm

   Well I guess it doesn’t matter how I spell it. When I make typos like before. That made no sense. Grr…I need a sign that says “Do not talk to me when I am typing.”

   Reply
10. AJ @ A Little Bit Nutty says:
    April 24, 2009 at 3:46 pm

    and what about weird! That one always gets me because I follow the rules and it always so no!

    Reply
11. Prohomemaker.com says:
    April 24, 2009 at 3:44 pm

    As a former copy editor, I can attest that English is one of the most difficult languages, with very odd exceptions. “Receive” is another commonly misspelled word (along with “misspelled”)

    

    Don’t even get me started on AP Style.

    Harry

    Reply
12. Keonte' says:
    April 24, 2009 at 3:26 pm

    Of course there is always an exception to every rule:

    “…common exceptions, such as species, science, sufficient, ancient (where ie follows c) or seize, weird, sovereignty, vein, feisty, kaleidoscope and neighbor (where ei is not preceded by c).”

    Reply
13. Kori@ hairstyles for girls says:
    April 24, 2009 at 3:24 pm

    Whoever came up with the English language should be slapped! My daughter is in Kindergarten and just learning to read. It’s ridiculous! Why is there a need for the letter C? Sometimes it’s a “K”, sometimes it’s an “S”. Why are there silent letters? When 2 vowels go walking, the first one is supposed to do the talking, but that’s not always true either. Don’t even get me started on the difference between to, too, and two. I could go on and on, but I won’t. Can’t wait to try and explain why sometimes “Y” is a vowel again tonight. Dang, it’s frustrating!

    Reply
14. Trisha-admin says:
    April 24, 2009 at 3:22 pm

    Liz wrote:

    I before e except after c or sounding like a in neighbor or weigh…
    if you think about it Their rhymes with air…so it is an “a” sound right?

    is it possible that now i am even MORE lost.

    Reply
15. Liz says:
    April 24, 2009 at 3:21 pm

    I before e except after c or sounding like a in neighbor or weigh…

    if you think about it Their rhymes with air…so it is an “a” sound right?

    Reply
16. Amanda says:
    April 24, 2009 at 3:17 pm

    Because English rules are some of the hardest to learn. I had an algebra teacher rant about it one day in class. I’ll never forget. His thing was “Why are tomb, bomb, and comb all spelled with the same pattern, but they aren’t pronounced in the same way?”

    Reply
17. Lisa says:
    April 24, 2009 at 3:15 pm

    i could not agree with you more Trisha , I always have done THIER and always get it in spell check , I was just following the rules !

    Reply

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