KeyStage

Years 5 and 6 English · Key Stage 2 · Spelling – English Appendix 1

Years 5 and 6 spelling: ei after c and the ough letter-string

Two spelling patterns that cause trouble for adults as well as children are taught in Years 5 and 6. The first is the “i before e, except after c” rule for words where the letters say the long ee sound, such as receive and ceiling. The second is the letter-string ough, which can be pronounced in at least six different ways, as in ought, rough, cough, though, through and plough.

ei after c and ough words, explained

The old rhyme “i before e, except after c” is a useful rule, but only for words where the letters make the long ee sound. After most letters the spelling is ie, as in believe, field, piece and achieve. After the letter c it is ei, as in receive, deceive, ceiling, receipt and conceive. The National Curriculum guidance makes clear that the rule is only about words where ei says ee, and it names a few exceptions to learn separately: protein, caffeine and seize, plus either and neither when they are said with an ee sound. Words where the letters make a different sound are outside the rule altogether: neighbour, weigh and eight use ei to say “ay”, and in science and ancient the ie after c does not say ee.

Many teachers present the c rule as a small family of words rather than a rule to chant. The words that follow it are few and mostly share a root: receive, deceive, conceive and perceive all end in the same part, and ceiling and receipt are the other regulars. Once a child has these written down together, they can check any word that has the ee sound after a c. Words with the ee sound after other letters, such as field, piece and believe, nearly always use ie.

The letter-string ough is one of the trickiest in English because the same four letters stand for different sounds. In ought, bought and thought they say “or”. In rough, tough and enough they say “uff”. In cough they say “off”. In though and dough they say “oh”. In through they say “oo”. In plough, bough and drought they say “ow”, and in thorough the ending is a short, soft “uh” sound. Because the spelling cannot be worked out from the sound, children cannot rely on phonics alone and have to learn the words.

A good way to learn them, and one many schools use, is to sort the words by sound and then to learn each group as a set. A child who has met ought, bought, thought and brought together can spot that they all rhyme and share a spelling. Some ough words are related, so learning one helps with the next: though and although, or thought and thoughtful. Several of them, including enough, though, thought and through, are also on the Years 3 and 4 word list, so children may have met them already.

Words your child will hear

Letter-string
A group of letters that appear together in many words, such as ough, which does not always make the same sound.
Long ee sound
The sound at the end of see. The ei after c rule only applies when this sound is heard.
Exception
A word that does not follow the rule, such as protein, caffeine and seize.
Rhyme
Words that end in the same sound, such as bought and thought. Rhyming words often share a spelling.
Phonics
Matching sounds to the letters that spell them. Ough words cannot be spelt from phonics alone, because the same letters say different sounds.
Word family
Words that share a spelling pattern or a root, such as receive, deceive and conceive.

What the National Curriculum says

In Years 5 and 6, pupils should be taught to:

  • Spell words with the /i:/ sound spelt ei after c
  • Spell words containing the letter-string ough

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: tackling two tricky spellings

Your child has written “recieve” and “thru” in a story. How can they put these right and then learn the ough words?

  1. Recieve: say the word and listen for the long ee sound in the middle. The letter before it is c. The rule says that after c the spelling is ei, so the correct spelling is receive. Writing it alongside deceive, conceive and ceiling shows the pattern.
  2. Check the rule really applies: say the word again and ask whether the letters are making the ee sound. They are, so the rule works. Compare it with weigh, where ei says “ay”: the rule is not needed there.
  3. Thru: this is a shortened form that is not accepted in formal writing. The correct spelling is through. Say it to rhyme with “you” and note that ough is saying “oo”. Through is the main ough word that says “oo”, so it needs to be learned on its own.
  4. Sort the other ough words by sound into groups: “or” (ought, bought, thought), “uff” (rough, tough, enough), “off” (cough), “oh” (though, dough), “ow” (plough) and “oo” (through). Read each group aloud.
  5. Cover, write and check one group a day, then write a sentence using two words from the same group, such as “The sea was rough, but the crew were tough enough.”

receive (ei after c, long ee sound) and through (ough saying “oo”). The ough words are learned in sound groups.

Common mistakes and how to help

Writing “recieve”, “cieling” or “decieve”

Most ee-sound words use ie, so children write ie by habit. The rhyme is also so well known that they remember the first half and forget the exception.

What helps: Teach the whole rhyme: “i before e, except after c, when the sound is ee”. Keep a short list of c-words, receive, deceive, conceive, perceive, ceiling and receipt, and check any ee-sound word that follows a c against it.

Thinking the rule has no exceptions, or applies to every ei and ie word

Words such as weigh, eight, neighbour and height have ei, so a child may wonder why the rule does not hold. Others, like seize and protein, really are exceptions.

What helps: Explain that the rule is about the ee sound only, and that protein, caffeine and seize are the exceptions the curriculum names, along with either and neither for people who say them with an ee sound. It is fine to say that English has a few that simply need to be learned.

Spelling ough words by sound, such as “enuff”, “thort” or “cof”

These are sensible spellings that follow phonics rules the child has been taught. The mistake shows good listening, but ough breaks the rules.

What helps: Say that the spelling is a surprise, then group the words by sound. Learn one group at a time and point out the ough in each word, using a colour or a highlighter.

Mixing up though, through, thought and thorough

All four start with th, end in a similar string of letters and are about the same length, so they look alike when a child is writing quickly.

What helps: Link each to its sound and meaning: thought rhymes with bought, though rhymes with go, through rhymes with you, and thorough ends in a soft “uh”. Writing a short sentence for each word helps fix its meaning.

How to help at home

  • Make a c-word wall. Write receive, deceive, conceive, perceive, ceiling and receipt on a sheet and stick it near where homework is done. Each day, cover one word and have your child write it from memory.
  • Sort ough words by sound. Write words such as ought, rough, cough, though, through, plough and thorough on separate cards. Ask your child to sort them into groups that sound the same, then read each group aloud.
  • Silly sentences. Challenge your child to write one sentence that uses as many ough words as possible, for example “Though the cough was rough, he thought it through.” Check every spelling together, then swap and make one for you.
  • Spot the rule in reading. While reading a book or a menu, ask your child to find words with ie or ei and decide whether the rule explains them, remembering to check the sound first. Keep a tally of the ones that follow it and the ones that do not.

Related topics

Builds on

More on spelling – English Appendix 1

Everything in Years 5 and 6 English

Updated .