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Spelling Rules and Tricks 

I Before E, Except...

1. The most famous spelling rule is the rhyme:
 

I before E
Except after C
Or when sounding like A
As in neighbor and weigh.

Here are some examples:

i before e 
1. believe 
2. thief 
3. niece 
4. field
5. yield

except after c
6. receive
7. receipt
8. conceive
9. deceive

sounding like a
10. neighbor
11. weigh
12. reindeer
13. reign
14. eight
and... their!

2. Unfortunately, there are several exceptions. Here is a trick sentence to help you remember them:
 

Neither foreign counterfeiter would seize either weird protein.

15. neither
16. foreign
17. counterfeit
18. seize
19. weird
20. protein