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3.3: The Vowel <e>

Last updated

Jun 15, 2022
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- 3.2: The Vowel <a>
- 3.4: The Vowel (i)

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Overview of the Vowel <e>

The sound the <e> spells in bet is called short <e>, and is written [e].

The sound the <e>s spell in beet is called long <e>, and is written [ē].

Examples

Note whether each letter <e>, or combination of letters, makes a short <e> or [e] sound versus a long <e> or [ē] sound.

lens - short <e> or [e]
feed - long <e> or [ē]

Review

Label each word as having a short or long vowel <e>.

slept
green
me
dense
fell
beam
stress
field
key
test

Label each word with [e] or [ē]. Note: [e] is the short sound and [ē] is the long sound.

peace
wedge
jeans
smear
teen
crept
nest
we
pen
fell

Show Answer

Label each word as having a short or long vowel <e>.

slept - short <e>
green - long <e>
me - long <e>
dense - short <e>
fell - short <e>
beam - long <e>
stress - short <e>
field - long <e>
key - long <e>
test - short <e>

Label each word with [e] or [ē]. Note: [e] is the short sound and [ē] is the long sound.

peace - [ē]
wedge - [e]
jeans - [ē]
smear - [ē]
teen - [ē]
crept - [e]
nest - [e]
we - [ē]
pen - [e]
fell - [e]

Spelling Long <e>

The most important spelling of [ē] is <e>, and it's almost always in the long patterns VCV and V.V.

Examples

Examples of long <e> in the VCV pattern: complete, evening, and supreme.

Examples of long <e> in the V.V pattern: create, idea, and courteous.

Review

Underline the <e>s that spell [ē] in each of the following words.
$\begin{align*} & \text{area} && \text{medium} && \text{ingredient} && \text{vehicle} && \text{interfere}\\ & \text{allegiance} && \text{genius} && \text{hyena} && \text{realize} && \text{supreme}\\ & \text{obedience} && \text{evil} && \text{intervene} && \text{region} && \text{serene}\\ & \text{complete} && \text{idea} && \text{rearranged} && \text{evening} && \text{courteous}\\ & \text{create} && \text{legal} && \text{rheostat} && \text{precede} && \text{reality}\\ & \text{concrete} && \text{senior} && \text{theater} && \text{encyclopedia} && \text{intermediate} \end{align*}$

Sort the thirty words into the following two groups.

Words with [ē] spelled <e> in the pattern...
V.V		VCV

The <e> spelling of [ē] occasionally occurs in two patterns other than the very common VCV and V.V. Mark the <e> spellings of [ē] in the words below as we have done with maybe, vehicle, secret, and theater. Watch for the patterns in maybe and secret.
$\begin{align*} & \text{maybe} && \text{secret} && \text{anemone} && \text{legal}\\ & \hspace{10mm}\text{v#} && \hspace{3mm}\text{vcrv} && \text{ } && \text{ }\\ & \text{vehicle} && \text{theater} && \text{acne} && \text{recipe}\\ & \hspace{3.5mm}\text{vcv} && \hspace{5.5mm}\text{v.}\hspace{2mm}\text{v} && \text{ } && \text{ }\\ & \text{courteous} && \text{catastrophe} && \text{simile} && \text{egret}\\ & \text{ } && \text{ } && \text{ } && \text{ }\\ & \text{cathedral} && \text{she} && \text{allegiance} && \text{inebriated} \end{align*}$

You should have found four words with [ē] spelled <e> in one pattern other than VCV or V.V, and you should have found seven words with [ē] spelled <e> in another pattern other than VCV or V.V. In the table below label the two columns with the proper patterns and sort the eleven words into the two groups.

Words with [ē] spelled <e> in the pattern...
V.V		VCV

What are the three words with [ē] spelled <e> in the VCV pattern?
What are the two words with [ē] spelled <e> in the V.V pattern?

Show Answer

$\begin{align*} & ar\underline{e}a && m\underline{e}dium && ingr\underline{e}dient && v\underline{e}hicle && interf\underline{e}re\\ & all\underline{e}giance && g\underline{e}nius && hy\underline{e}na && r\underline{e}alize && supr\underline{e}me\\ & ob\underline{e}dience && \underline{e}vil && interv\underline{e}ne && r\underline{e}gion && ser\underline{e}ne\\ & compl\underline{e}te && id\underline{e}a && r\underline{e}arranged && \underline{e}vening && court\underline{e}ous\\ & cr\underline{e}ate && l\underline{e}gal && rh\underline{e}ostat && prec\underline{e}de && r\underline{e}ality\\ & concr\underline{e}te && s\underline{e}nior && th\underline{e}ater && encyclop\underline{e}dia && interm\underline{e}diate \end{align*}$

Words with [ē] spelled <e> in the pattern...
V.V		VCV
area	courteous	allegiance	legal	evening
create	reality	obedience	senior	precede
idea		complete	ingredient	encyclopedia
rearranged		concrete	hyena	interfere
rheostat		medium	intervene	supreme
theater		genius	vehicle	serene
realize		intermediate	region	evil

$\begin{align*} & \text{maybe} && \text{secret} && \text{anemone} && \text{legal}\\ & \hspace{10mm}\text{v#} && \hspace{3mm}\text{vcrv} && \hspace{14mm}\text{v#} && \hspace{1.5mm}\text{vcv}\\ & \text{vehicle} && \text{theater} && \text{acne} && \text{recipe}\\ & \hspace{3mm}\text{vcv} && \hspace{5.5mm}\text{v.}\hspace{2mm}\text{v} && \hspace{5mm}\text{v#} && \hspace{10mm}\text{v#}\\ & \text{courteous} && \text{catastrophe} && \text{simile} && \text{egret}\\ & \hspace{13mm}\text{v.}\hspace{1mm}\text{v} && \hspace{14mm}\text{v#} && \hspace{10mm}\text{v#} && \text{vcrv}\\ & \text{cathedral} && \text{she} && \text{allegiance} && \text{inebriated}\\ & \hspace{9mm}\text{vcrv} && \hspace{2mm}\text{v#} && \hspace{5mm}\text{vcv} && \hspace{4mm}\text{vcrv} \end{align*}$

Words with [ē] spelled <e> in the pattern...
VCrV	V#
secret	maybe	she
cathedral	catastrophe	acne
egret	anemone	recipe
inebriated	simile

The three words with [ē] spelled <e> in the VCV pattern:
$\begin{align*} & \text{legal} && \text{allegiance} && \text{vehicle}\\ \end{align*}$
The two words with [ē] spelled <e> in the V.V pattern:
$\begin{align*} & \text{courteous} && \text{theater}\\ \end{align*}$

Long <e> Spelled or <y>

Other than <e>, two very important spellings of [ē] are and <y>.

Examples

The spelling of [ē] usually occurs in the V.V pattern and sometimes in the VCV pattern. It only occurs in the V# pattern in foreign words recently brought into our language, such as broccoli, spaghetti, and macaroni. The V# pattern is the one in which the <y> spelling of [ē] always occurs. Both the and the <y> spellings often occur in weakly stressed syllables.

Review

Underline the s and <y>s that are spelling [ē] in the following words.
$\begin{align*} & \text{ability} && \text{gasoline} && \text{champion} && \text{angry} && \text{community}\\ & \text{curiosity} && \text{enthusiasm} && \text{machine} && \text{dignity} && \text{glorious}\\ & \text{magazine} && \text{fiery} && \text{guardian} && \text{medium} && \text{police}\\ & \text{gloomy} && \text{obedience} && \text{obvious} && \text{period} && \text{library}\\ & \text{variety} && \text{reality} && \text{piano} && \text{routine} && \text{various}\\ & \text{jolliest} && \text{chocolaty} && \text{ingredient} && \text{polliwog} && \text{encyclopedia} \end{align*}$

Sort the words into the following two groups. One word goes into both groups.

Words with [ē] spelled...
<y>		<i>

Now sort the words with [ē] spelled into the following two groups.

Words with [ē] spelled <i> in the pattern...
V.V		VCV

In what pattern does the <y> spelling of [ē] always occur? _______.
Five words in the list in Item 1 that contain [ē] spelled <e> are...

Show Answer

$\begin{align*} & abilit\underline{y} && gasol\underline{i}ne && champ\underline{i}on && angr\underline{y} && communit\underline{y}\\ & cur\underline{i}osit\underline{y} && enthus\underline{i}asm && mach\underline{i}ne && dignit\underline{y} && glor\underline{i}ous\\ & magaz\underline{i}ne && fier\underline{y} && guard\underline{i}an && med\underline{i}um && pol\underline{i}ce\\ & gloom\underline{y} && obed\underline{i}ence && obv\underline{i}ous && per\underline{i}od && librar\underline{y}\\ & variet\underline{y} && realit\underline{y} && p\underline{i}ano && rout\underline{i}ne && var\underline{i}ous\\ & joll\underline{i}est && chocolat\underline{y} && ingred\underline{i}ent && poll\underline{i}wog && encycloped\underline{i}a \end{align*}$

Words with [ē] spelled...
<y>		<i>
ability	chocolaty	curiosity	piano
curiosity	angry	magazine	ingredient
gloomy	dignity	jolliest	medium
variety	community	gasoline	period
fiery	library	enthusiasm	routine
reality		obedience	polliwog
		champion	glorious
		machine	police
		guardian	various
		obvious	encyclopedia

Words with [ē] spelled <i> in the pattern...
V.V		VCV
curiosity	piano	magazine
jolliest	ingredient	gasoline
enthusiasm	medium	machine
obedience	period	routine
champion	glorious	polliwog
guardian	various	police
obvious	encyclopedia

In what pattern does the <y> spelling of [ē] always occur? V#.
Five words in the list in Item 1 that contain [ē] spelled <e> are...
$\begin{align*} & \text{obedience} && \text{reality} && \text{ingredient} && \text{medium} && \text{encyclopedia} \end{align*}$

Explore More

Word Alchemy. Hundreds of years ago alchemy was the ancestor of modern chemistry. The alchemists worked hard trying to change lead into gold. In the puzzle below you can change the word lead into the word gold. Here are the rules:

Any shaded square must contain the same letter as the square directly above it.
Any unshaded square must contain a different letter from the square directly above it.
Every row must contain an English word.

Hints: Since you know that the two shaded squares in row 2 must contain the same letters as the two squares directly above them, you know that they must contain <e> and <a>. And since you know that the two shaded squares in row 4 contain the same letters as the two squares directly above them, you know that the word in row 3 must end with the letters <ld>. You should write the <ea> and <ld> into rows 2 and 3. You won't know what the shaded square in row 3 contains until you know the word that goes in row 2, so you can't write in the first letter in row 3 yet. That gives you the following:

Your job now is to find two words that fit into rows 2 and 3. Each must contain four letters. Because of rule number one above, you know that the first word must have <ea> in the middle; the second must end in <ld>, and they must both start with the same letter. Because of rule number two, you also know that the word in row 2 cannot start with <l> or end with <d> above, and the word in row 3 cannot have <go> as its first two letters. The two words beat and bald would work. So would meat and mild. There are other workable pairs beyond this example.

Here are some more Word Alchemies for you to solve.

Show Answer

Digraph Spellings of Long <e>

A digraph is a combination of two letters used to spell a single sound. Long <e> is spelled by a number of different digraphs like <ea>, <ee>, and <ey>, as well as others.

Examples

Some high frequency words with [ē] spelled <ey> include: abbey, alley, attorney, barley, chimney, donkey, honey, jersey, journey, key, money, monkey, turkey, and valley.

The digraph <oe> comes from Greek. Several words with <oe> have more English-looking spellings with just plain <e>: ameba, for instance, and subpena.

The digraph <ae> comes from Latin. In Latin <ae> is a common ending for plural nouns. Several of these nouns have more regular English plurals with -s: amoebas (or amebas), for instance.

The digraph <eo> in people comes from an old French word that was sometimes spelled people, sometimes peple, sometimes poeple. The French word came from the Latin word populus, which meant “people” and also gave us words like popular and population. Remembering the <o> in popular and population can help you remember the <o> in people.

Review

Read the following words aloud. Underline the digraphs that are spelling [ē] in the following words.
$\begin{align*} & \text{agreement} && \text{referee} && \text{pioneers} && \text{colleague} && \text{subpoena}\\ & \text{seagulls} && \text{donkey} && \text{larvae} && \text{amoebae} && \text{proceed}\\ & \text{algae} && \text{foreseeable} && \text{league} && \text{thirteen} && \text{pulley}\\ & \text{peaceable} && \text{greasy} && \text{leading} && \text{trolley} && \text{disease}\\ & \text{committee} && \text{guarantee} && \text{employee} && \text{people} && \text{breathed} \end{align*}$

Now sort the words into the following groups.

Words with [ē] spelled with the digraph...
<ee>		<ea>		<ey>

Words with [ē] spelled with the digraph...
<ae>		<oe>	<eo>

Notice that the digraph <ey> only spells [ē] when it comes at the end of the word. In this way it is very much like the <y> spelling of [ē], which also only occurs at the end of the word.

Show Answer

$\begin{align*} & agr\underline{ee}ment && refer\underline{ee} && pion\underline{ee}rs && coll\underline{ea}gue && subp\underline{oe}na\\ & s\underline{ea}gulls && donk\underline{ey} && larv\underline{ae} && am\underline{oe}b\underline{ae} && proc\underline{ee}d\\ & alg\underline{ae} && fores\underline{ee}able && l\underline{ea}gue && thirt\underline{ee}n && pull\underline{ey}\\ & p\underline{ea}ceable && gr\underline{ea}sy && l\underline{ea}ding && troll\underline{ey} && dis\underline{ea}se\\ & committ\underline{ee} && guarant\underline{ee} && employ\underline{ee} && p\underline{eo}ple && br\underline{ea}thed \end{align*}$

Words with [ē] spelled with the digraph...
<ee>		<ea>		<ey>
agreements	pioneers	seagulls	disease	donkey
committee	employee	leading	colleague	trolley
referee	thirteen	peaceable	greasy	pully
foreseeable	proceed	league	brea

Words with [ē] spelled with the digraph...
<ae>		<oe>	<eo>
algae	amoebae	amoebae	people
larvae		subpoena

Long <e> and the -before-<e> Rule

The -before-<e> rule is the best known bit of spelling wisdom around.

It states: before <e>, except after <c>, or when spelling [ā] as in neighbor and weigh.

Note that the <ie> spelling of [ē] is quite common where certain stems and suffixes come together. If a stem that ends in a consonant plus <y> has a suffix added to it that starts with <e>, when the <y> changes to , the resulting <ie> often spells [ē].

Examples

When spelling long <e>, which is usually the case, <ie> or <ei>? <ie>

Which is usually the case, <cie> or <cei>? <cei>

Add the suffix to create an <ie> that spells [ē].
gallery + es = galler y+ i + es = galleries

Review

If you're spelling long <e> right after the letter <c>, is it <ei> or <ie>? ______
Any words that fit either of those two cases are instances of the rule, while words that do not fit into one of the three cases are holdouts. Among the following thirty words you should find twenty-two instances and eight holdouts. Underline the <ie> and <ei> spellings of [ē]:
$\begin{align*} & \text{grief} && \text{yielding} && \text{either} && \text{priest} && \text{deceiving}\\ & \text{relief} && \text{ceiling} && \text{conceive} && \text{prairie} && \text{movies}\\ & \text{receive} && \text{weird} && \text{believe} && \text{receipt} && \text{collie}\\ & \text{seize} && \text{shriek} && \text{field} && \text{deceit} && \text{receiver}\\ & \text{hygiene} && \text{thief} && \text{protein} && \text{financier} && \text{weir}\\ & \text{niece} && \text{calorie} && \text{leisure} && \text{perceives} && \text{conceit} \end{align*}$

Sort the above words into the following groups. Be ready to discuss your reasons for putting each word into each group.

Instances of the Rule		Holdouts to the Rule
Words with [ē] spelled <ei> after <c>	Words with [ē] spelled <ie> elsewhere	Holdouts to the Rule

Combine the following stems and suffixes. In the words that you form, mark the letters that spell [ē].

Stem + Suffix	= Analysis	= Word
gallery + es	= galler y+ i + es	= galleries
hurry + ed	=	=
marry + ed	=	=
study + er	=	=
vary + er	=	=
allergy + es	=	=
fallacy + es	=	=

Show Answer

If you're spelling long <e> right after the letter <c>, is it <ei> or <ie>? <ei>
Any words that fit either of those two cases are instances of the rule. Any words that do not fit into one of the three cases are holdouts. Among the following thirty words you should find twenty-two instances and eight holdouts. Underline the <ie> and <ei> spellings of [ē]:
$\begin{align*} & gr\underline{ie}f && y\underline{ie}lding && \underline{ei}ther && pr\underline{ie}st && dec\underline{ei}ving\\ & rel\underline{ie}f && c\underline{ei}ling && conc\underline{ei}ve && prair\underline{ie} && mov\underline{ie}s\\ & rec\underline{ei}ve && w\underline{ei}rd && believe && rec\underline{ei}pt && coll\underline{ie}\\ & s\underline{ei}ze && shr\underline{ie}k && f\underline{ie}ld && dec\underline{ei}t && rec\underline{ei}ver\\ & hyg\underline{ie}ne && th\underline{ie}f && prot\underline{ei}n && financ\underline{ie}r && w\underline{ei}r\\ & n\underline{ie}ce && calor\underline{ie} && l\underline{ei}sure && perc\underline{ei}ves && conc\underline{ei}t \end{align*}$

Sort the above words into the following groups. Be ready to discuss your reasons for putting each word into each group.

Instances of the Rule			Holdouts to the Rule
Words with [ē] spelled <ei> after <c>	Words with [ē] spelled <ie> elsewhere		Holdouts to the Rule
receive	grief	calorie	seize
ceiling	relief	believe	weird
conceive	hygiene	field	either
receipt	niece	priest	protein
deceit	yielding	prairie	leisure
perceives	shriek	movies	financier
deceiving	theif	collie	weir
receiver
conciet

Combine the following stems and suffixes. In the words that you form, mark the letters that spell [ē].

Stem + Suffix	= Analysis	= Word
gallery + es	= galler y+ i + es	= galleries
hurry + ed	= hurr y+ i + es	= hurried
marry + ed	= marr y+ i + es	= married
study + er	= stud y+ i + es	= studier
vary + er	= var y+ i + es	= varies
allergy + es	= allerg y+ i + es	= allergies
fallacy + es	= fallac y+ i + es	= fallacies

The -before-<e> Rule and Spelling Long <a> and Long

The I-Before-E Rule:

It's before <e>, except after <c>

Or when spelling [ā], as in neighbor or weigh.

Examples

When you are spelling long <e> the first line of the I-Before-E jingle is a good guide. The second line of the jingle is a good guide when you are spelling long <a>. Long <a> is never spelled <ie>. So far as the choice between <ie> and <ei> is concerned, when spelling [ā] always choose <ei>, like in the words neighbor and weigh.

Review

Underline the letters that are spelling long <a> in the following words. Do not underline <gh> as part of the spelling of long <a>:
$\begin{align*}& \text{neighbor} && \text{eight} && \text{veil} && \text{reindeer} \\ & \text{vein} && \text{heir} && \text{freight} && \text{surveillance} \\ & \text{reign} && \text{weigh} && \text{their} && \text{sleigh} \end{align*}$

Sort the words into these two groups:

Words in which the <ei>...
comes before <gh>		does not come before <gh>

We can make the I-Before-E Rule even more useful if we add something about spelling long to it. Underline the letters that spell long in the following words. Again, don't underline any silent <gh> after long :
$\begin{align*}& \text{eiderdown} && \text{height} && \text{feisty} && \text{poltergeist} \\ & \text{kaleidoscope} && \text{untie} && \text{seismic} && \text{either} \\ & \text{magpie} && \text{neither} && \text{sleight} && \text{underlie}\end{align*}$

Sort the words into these two groups:

Words in which the [i] is...
at the beginning of the word	in the middle of the word		at the end of the word

Among these words, is [ī] at the end of the word spelled <ei> or <ie>? _________

The <ie> spelling of long <e> often occurs when a stem that ends in <y> has a suffix added to it that starts with <e>: gallery+es = galler y+ i + es = galleries. The <ie> spelling of long sometimes occurs in the same way: sky + es = sk y+ i + es = skies, with [ī] spelled <ie>. Combine the following stems and suffixes and underline the letters that spell [ī]:

Stem + Suffix	= Analysis	= Word
sky + es	= sk y+ i + es	= skies
ally + es	=	=
dignify + ed	=	=
satisfy + ed	=	=
modify + es	=	=
terrify + ed	=	=
multiply + ed	=	=
testify + es	=	=
qualify + ed	=	=
dry + es	=	=

Notice that this <ie> spelling of long also comes at the end of the free stem, just as it does in words like untie and magpie. So now our I-Before-E Rule can tell us the following things:

a. When we're spelling long <e>, it's before <e> except after <c>.

b. When we're spelling long <a> it's <e> before .

c. When we're spelling long , it's before <e> at the end of free stems, but it's <e> before everyplace else.

Show Answer

Underline the letters that are spelling long <a> in the following words. Do not underline <gh> as part of the spelling of long <a>:
$\begin{align*}& n\underline{ei}ghbor && \underline{ei}ght && v\underline{ei}l && r\underline{ei}ndeer\\& v\underline{ei}n && h\underline{ei}r && fr\underline{ei}ght && surv\underline{ei}llance\\& r\underline{ei}gn && w\underline{ei}gh && th\underline{ei}r && sl\underline{ei}gh\end{align*}$

Sort the words into these two groups:

Words in which the <ei>...
comes before <gh>		does not come before <gh>
neighbor	sleigh	vein	veil
eight		reign	their
weigh		heir	reindeer
freight			surveillance

We can make the l-Before-E Rule even more useful if we add something about spelling long to it. Underline the letters that spell long in the following words. Again, don't underline any silent <gh> after long :
$\begin{align*}& \underline{ei}derdown && h\underline{ei}ght && f\underline{ei}sty && polterg\underline{ei}st\\& kal\underline{ei}doscope && unt\underline{ie} && s\underline{ei}smic && \underline{ei}ther\\& magp\underline{ie} && n\underline{ei}ther && sl\underline{ei}ght && underl\underline{ie}\end{align*}$

Sort the words into these two groups:

Words in which the [i] is...
at the beginning of the word	in the middle of the word		at the end of the word
eiderdown	kaleidoscope	seismic	magpie
either	height	sleight	untie
	neither	poltergeist	underlie
	fiesty

Among these words, is [ī] at the end of the word spelled <ei> or <ie>? <ie>
At the beginning or in the middle of words [ī] is spelled <ei>.

Combine the following stems and suffixes and underline the letters that spell [ī]:

Stem + Suffix	= Analysis	= Word
sky + es	= sk y+ i + es	= skies
ally + es	= all y+ i + es	= allies
dignify + ed	= dignif y+ i + ed	= dignified
satisfy + ed	= satisf y+ i + ed	= satisfied
modify + es	= modif y+ i + es	= modifies
terrify + ed	= terrif y+ i + ed	= terrified
multiply + ed	= multipl y+ i + ed	= multiplied
testify + es	= testif y+ i + es	= testifies
qualify + ed	= qualif y+ i + ed	= qualified
dry + es	= dr y+ i + es	= dries

Exceptions to the -before-<e> Rule

The I-Before-E Rule describes the following five cases:

When we're spelling long <e>, anywhere except after <c>, it's before <e>.
When we're spelling long <e> after <c>, it's <e> before .
When we're spelling long <a> it's <e> before .
When we're spelling long at the end of free stems, it's before <e>.
When we're spelling long anywhere else, it's <e> before .

Any words that fit any of those cases are instances of the rule. Any words that do not fit into any of the cases are holdouts.

Examples

These five words (leisure, protein, seize, weird, and financier) are hardcore holdouts to the <l>-Before-<E> Rule. There are seven others: fiery, foreign, counterfeit, sovereign, heifer, weir, hierarchy.

Review

Below are sixty-four words. All of the words contain <ie> or <ei> spelling either [ā], [ē], or [ī]. Read them carefully and then sort the instances into the matrix below. As you write each instance into the matrix, check it off the list. There are fifty-seven instances.

$\begin{align*} & \text{allergies} && \text{feisty} && \text{neither} && \text{skies}\\ & \text{allies} && \text{field} && \text{niece} && \text{sleigh}\\ & \text{believe} && \text{financier} && \text{perceives} && \text{sleight}\\ & \text{calorie} && \text{freight} && \text{poltergeist} && \text{studied}\\ & \text{ceiling} && \text{galleries} && \text{prairie} && \text{surveillance}\\ & \text{collie} && \text{grief} && \text{priest} && \text{their}\\ & \text{conceit} && \text{height} && \text{protein} && \text{thief}\\ & \text{conceive} && \text{heir} && \text{qualified} && \text{underlie}\\ & \text{deceit} && \text{hygiene} && \text{receiver} && \text{varies}\\ & \text{dignified} && \text{kaleidoscope} && \text{reign} && \text{veil}\\ & \text{dried} && \text{leisure} && \text{reindeer} && \text{vein}\\ & \text{eiderdown} && \text{magpie} && \text{relief} && \text{weigh}\\ & \text{eight} && \text{married} && \text{seismic} && \text{weight}\\ & \text{either} && \text{movies} && \text{seize} && \text{weird}\\ & \text{fallacies} && \text{neighbor} && \text{shriek} && \text{yielding} \end{align*}$

	Instances of the Rule
Case 1: [ē] = <ei> not after <c>
Case 2: [ē] = <ie> not after <c>
Case 3: [ā] = <ei>
Case 4: [ī] at the end of free stems = <ie>
Case 5: [ī] at the beginning or in the middle of stems = <ei>

In addition to the fifty-seven instances, among the sixty-four words there are just a few holdouts. Two of these holdouts can each be pronounced two different ways. When pronounced one way, they are holdouts. When pronounced the other way, they are instances. These two only apparent holdouts are:
Four of the other true holdouts have [ē] spelled by an <ei> that does not come after <c>. These four holdouts are:
The last of the five true holdouts has [ē] spelled <ie> after <c>. It is:

Show Answer

Instances of the Rule

Case 1: [ē] = <ei> not after <c>

ceiling

conceive

deceiving

receipt

conceit

deceit

perceives

receiver

Case 2: [ē] = <ie> not after <c>

allergies

calorie

fallacies

galleries

hurried

married

niece

priest

shriek

thief

yielding

believe

collie

field

grief

hygiene

movies

prairie

relief

studied

varies

Case 3: [ā] = <ei>

eight

heir

reign

sleigh

their

vein

weight

freight

neighbor

reindeer

surveillance

veil

weigh

Case 4: [ī] at the end of free stems = <ie>

allies

dried

qualified

underlie

dignified

magpie

skies

untie

Case 5: [ī] at the beginning or in the middle of stems = <ei>

eiderdown

height

poltergeist

sleight

feisty

kaleidoscope

seismic

$\begin{align*} & \text{either} && \text{neither} \end{align*}$
$\begin{align*} & \text{leisure} && \text{protein} && \text{seize} && \text{weird} \end{align*}$
$\begin{align*} & \text{financier} \end{align*}$

Overview of the Vowel <e>

Examples

Review

Spelling Long <e>

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Review

Long <e> Spelled <i> or <y>

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Review

Explore More

Digraph Spellings of Long <e>

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Review

Long <e> and the <i>-before-<e> Rule

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Review

The <i>-before-<e> Rule and Spelling Long <a> and Long <i>

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Review

Exceptions to the <i>-before-<e> Rule

Examples

Review

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