Level B1

I before E Rule

I believe you.

Look: I believe you. A consonant stands before the pair, so the order is the usual one.

Forms

• believe, piece, field — the usual order after a consonant
• receive, ceiling, deceive — after the letter c the order is reversed
• friend, chief, thief — another consonant keeps the usual order

A common mistake

Wrong: I beleive you.

Right: I believe you.

A common mistake is to swap the two letters. We write: I believe you.

More examples

Did you receive my letter?

The reversed order after c: Did you receive my letter?

She ate a piece of bread in the field.

The usual order twice: She ate a piece of bread in the field.