If the rule is "I before E except after C" why is it spelt 'weird'?
-MC
There are exceptions.
It's I before E, except after C, or when sounding like "A" as in "neighbor" and "weigh" ... with some exceptions!!
http://www.google.com/search?q=i+before+e+exceptions&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
ahhh, so many exceptions! well, thanks =)
-MC
The phrase "I before E except after C" is a helpful mnemonic that we often learn in school to remember the spelling pattern for words with the letter combination "ie" or "ei." It suggests that in most cases, the letter "i" comes before "e" unless it follows the letter "c." However, there are some exceptions to this rule, and "weird" is one of them.
To understand why "weird" is spelled the way it is, we can follow the two steps of analyzing the word and checking for exceptions:
1. Analyze the word: Break the word down into its individual phonetic sounds. In the case of "weird," it sounds like /w-eer-d/.
2. Check for exceptions: We search for any exceptions to the "I before E except after C" rule. In the case of "weird," it doesn't follow the rule since the "ei" combination is not preceded by the letter "c." Therefore, "weird" is one of the exceptions to this rule.
It's important to note that while the rule is a useful guideline, there are indeed a significant number of exceptions in the English language. "Weird" is one example, along with many others like "height," "neighbor," and "their."