You’ve probably seen the mugs and t-shirts that quote (or misquote) the much-used memory tool from an earlier generation: “i before e except after c”. Which is weird, when you think of it. Why? Because the rule falls flat instantly when you consider words like: weird (of course), forfeit, albeit, glacier, seize and so many other words that forfeit the grand order of things, in English of course. And that’s the catchphrase that appears on mugs and t-shirts, the quote, and the words that don’t fit into the rule.

It's one of the many mnemonic rules of thumb to help people with English spelling. If you’re not sure whether to use ‘ei’ or ‘ie’ when the two letters fall together, the rhyme provides a viable solution to determine the correct order, as in the words: believe, fierce, friend, die, ceiling, and so on. It works. Sometimes.

It’s no wonder people whose first language isn’t English find English so difficult to learn, as much in the written form as in the spoken form. Here are some other reasons:

- The gauze was wound tightly around the wound. (One word, wound, same spelling, two different pronunciations, two different meanings.)

- Farms are known to produce produce. (One word, produce, same spelling, two different pronunciations, two different meanings. And, placed one after the other, causes the spell check to disagree with no suggested remedies, indicating that even spell check has problems with the English language.)

- The garbage truck was full to capacity, so the city waste removal personnel had to refuse additional refuse. (One word, refuse, same spelling, two different pronunciations, two different meanings.)

- The buck does enjoy having the does (females) present. (One word, buck, same spelling, two different pronunciations, two different meanings.)

- One might attribute his attributes to his inherent personality. (One word, attribute(s), two different pronunciations, two different meanings.)

- You might want to play the bass, but you can eat a bass after you catch it. (One word, bass, two different pronunciations, two different meanings.)

You see, in English, it’s the heteronyms that become the stumbling block. These are words that are spelled the same but have more than one sound and more than one meaning. And there are a lot of them – far more than the examples above.

And here are some heteronym examples of words spelled the same, pronounced the same, but with different definitions:

- He didn’t mean to be mean.

- It was a good match for them, even if he couldn’t strike the match.

- As the band played, she tied her hair back with a band.

And that’s not all. Don’t forget the homonyms: they’re, there, their; hear, here; to, too, two; week, weak; sun, son; break, brake; buy, by; and so many more. Same sound, different spelling, different meaning.

Let’s face it, English is a complex language full of multiple anomalies. You may ask, why is this important to us as writers? Well, for one thing, if we can’t spell the word correctly, we can’t use it correctly (or at all), now can we?