Decoding exercises: "ie"

I before E except after C
This rule of thumb is not always true. This article explores the "ie" part. For the "cei" part see Decoding exercises: "ei".

Together with the article on decoding difficulties, this page sets out some common words teachers can use to help their students become more aware of how they can sound out more correctly the different sounds corresponding to words containing "ie".

## Verbs ending in "y"

Verbs ending in "y" may be pronounced with /iː/ (like "carry") or /aɪ/ (like "try"). See Decoding the letter Y.

These verbs form their past tense and past participle with "ied", and their plural with "ies".

* /iː/ carry - carries - carried; study - studies - studied;
* /aɪ/ apply - applies - applied; try - tries - tried

## /iː/

The rule of thumb "I before E except after C" is intended to be used only when the vowel sound is /iː/.

* as **/iː/**: achieve - belief - believe - brief - chief - field - grief - hygiene - Marie - niece - piece - rabies - relief - relieve - series - Sheffield - shield - skied - thief - Wakefield - yield

Exception to the rule: species

## Stressed /ɪ/

* as **/ɪ/**: sieve *(possibly the only stressed case)*

## /ɪ/ or /ə/

* mischievous /ˈmɪstʃɪvəs/ or /ˈmɪstʃəvəs/

## Unstressed /iː/ or /ɪ/

*See also Pronunciation exercises: /ɪ/ vs /iː/ § Unstressed syllable*

* At the end of the word: auntie - hippie - movie - Stephanie
* Derived forms of *-y* verbs

* *-ies* third person and *-ied* past tense: carries - carried; hurries - hurried; marries - married; studies - studied; tidies - tidied; worries - worried;
* *-ies* plural of *-y* nouns: apologies - babies - berries - cities - companies - countries - families - ferries - hoodies - ladies - parties - rubies - stories;

Note that there are very few minimal pairs that contrast /ɪ/ and /iː/ in unstressed position.

## /ɪə/

* as **/ɪə/**: fierce - pierce - piercing - tier

## /aɪ/

* *ie:* die - lie - pie - tie
* *-ies* third person and *-ied* past tense of *-y* verbs: applies - applied; cries - cried; denies - denied; dries - dried; flies - flied; fries - fried; identifies - identified; implies - implied; justifies - justified; modifies - modified; multiplies - multiplied; occupies - occupied; qualifies - qualified; relies - relied; satisfies - satisfied; specifies - specified; relied; spies - spies; supplies - supplied; tries - tried; verifies - verified
* *-ies* plural of *-y* nouns: allies - cries - flies - fries - skies - spies

## /ə/

* ancient - efficient - patient - soldier - sufficient

## Others

* Daniel /ˈdænjəl/
* friend /frend/
* Vietnam has at least four alternatives: "Viet" as /ˌvjet/ or /ˌviːet/ and "nam" as /ˈnæm/ or /ˈnɑːm/. Wikipedia gives also /ˌviːətˈnɑːm/.

* "iew" as /juː/: interview, review, view

## "ie" in two separate syllables

### /aɪ.ə/

* anxiety, client, diet, quiet, science, society, variety
* drier, flier, supplier
* comparatives: drier

### /ɪ.ə/ or /iː.ə/

The period indicates separate syllables, and here it is used to distinguish /ɪ/+/ə/ and phoneme /ɪə/).

* alien, audience, barrier, convenience, convenient, experience, leniency, nutrient, resilience
* Derived forms of *-y* adjectives

* comparatives: busier, earlier, easier, funnier, happier, prettier, sunnier, uglier

### Others

* /iːə/: lien, skier
* /iːe/: orient
* Derived forms of *-y* adjectives

* superlatives: /ɪɪ/ or /iːɪ/ busiest - earliest - easiest - funniest - happiest - prettiest - sunniest - ugliest

## See also

* Decoding the letter Y
* Past tense pronunciation