i before e, silent letters and other famous traps
Tests: 5 of 12 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 10 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 10 of the english course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.
Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.
Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗
«i before e except after c, always, no exceptions, sorted». What's the problem?
- 1. It is only for words that start with c, like «ceiling» and «cereal» — ← Mova's choice · score 3
- 2. It should be «e before i except after c» — no support
- 3. Nothing, the rhyme has no exceptions — no support
- 4. It's a guide for /ee/; words like «weird» break it — ✓ the right answer · score 2
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 3, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 5, line 2: «Every letter has a starting point and a direction. Isla starts her «d» at the bottom and pushes up; her teacher says «start at the top». Many letters, a, d, g,…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «begin» (+2); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗
«ceiling, that's c-i-e, cos i before e innit». Put her right.
- 1. Both orders are fine — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. After c it's ei: c-e-i-l-i-n-g — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. It's spelled «seeling» — no support
- 4. She's right, c-i-e-l-i-n-g — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗
«that rule is wicked dumb, what about their?» What would a teacher say?
- 1. «Their» is spelled «thier» — no support
- 2. The rule is only for /ee/; «their» doesn't have that sound — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Dad is right; the rule is useless for every single word in English — ← Mova's choice · score 7
- 4. «Their» follows the rule because it has no c — score 4
Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 3 with score 7, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 7, line 16: «A spelling rule works for most words; a few exceptions are learned on a short list.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «spelling rule» (+2); the same circumstance (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗
What would happen if we spelled every silent letter out of English?
- 1. Nothing, silent letters do nothing — no support
- 2. Words would be easier to spell but would lose clues to their history — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Every word would be read the same in every accent — no support
- 4. Words like «knight» and «night» would still look different, because their meanings differ — ← Mova's choice · score 4
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 4 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 6, line 2: «Words ending in y look at the letter before it. A consonant before the y: change y to i and add -es (baby, babies; party, parties). A vowel before the y: just…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «look» (+2); the same doer «words» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★ · right ✓
«the s in island is cos they used to say iss-land back in the day». Is that true?
- 1. Yes, everyone said «iss-land» until 1900 — no support
- 2. No, the s was never said; scholars added it by mistake — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
- 3. No, the s was added last year — no support
- 4. Yes, and Americans still say it that way — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 10, line 3: «Not every silent letter used to be spoken. The s in «island» was never said: hundreds of years ago scholars added it because they wrongly thought the word came…», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «add» (+4); the same doer «scholars» (+4). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★ · right ✓
«I'm writin' Wensday cos it's what I say, innit». What should she do?
- 1. Say «Wed-nes-day» in her head when she spells it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 18
- 2. Write «Wensday», spelling always follows speech — score 8
- 3. Write «Weds» in all her school work, since that is the short form everyone uses — score 8
- 4. Write «Wendsday», with the d at the end — score 8
Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 1 with score 18, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 10, line 2: «Silent letters are fossils of old speech. The k in «knife» and «knee» and the w in «write» and «wrong» were once said aloud; so was the b in «lamb», «climb» an…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same action «say» (+4); the same thing acted on «wed nes» (+4); the same place «head» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗
«Feb-ru-ary, who even says that r? just drop it». What is the fair answer?
- 1. It is spelled «Febuary» now — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Only Americans spell it with the r; in Britain it has been dropped from spelling — no support
- 3. Many don't say it, but the spelling keeps it — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Drop it; spelling should follow speech — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★ · right ✓
A cartoon knight shouts «My name starts with N!». What should the cartoon teach?
- 1. «Knight» starts with a silent k — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 2. The knight is right, it's «Night» — no support
- 3. «Knight» starts with a silent g — no support
- 4. Knights have no spelling — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 8, line 2: «The secret is the root word, the word you start from. Root ends in t or te: -tion (act, action; invent, invention; complete, completion). Root ends in ss: -ssi…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+4); the same action «start» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗
Mark's friend spells «friend» as «freind». Which memory trick fixes it?
- 1. A friend to the end: the word ends in «end» — ✓ the right answer · score 3
- 2. Write it as it sounds: frend — ← Mova's choice · score 8
- 3. Friends eat ice: f-r-e-i — no support
- 4. i before e except after c — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 8, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 2, line 6: «Blending is pushing sounds together to read a word; segmenting is splitting a word into its sounds to spell it.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same thing acted on «word» (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 1, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗
★★★ Which word follows the FULL rhyme, «i before e except after c, when the sound is /ee/»?
- 1. weird — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. their, because it has no c — no support
- 3. receipt — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. eight — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 11 · ★ · right ✓
★★★ How many of these words have a silent letter: knee, lamb, wet, write, gnome, bed?
- 1. 4 — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. 3 — no support
- 3. 5 — no support
- 4. 6 — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 12 · ★ · right ✓
★★★ Which group shares one silent-letter pattern?
- 1. lamb, climb, comb — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. knife, write, gnome — no support
- 3. eight, weigh, weird — no support
- 4. island, Wednesday, rhythm — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the rule «i before e except after c»?
- 1. It is a reliable guide for words containing the sound /ee/, subject to exceptions — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 2. It applies without exception to every word in the language — score 5
- 3. It was abolished by the examination boards some decades ago and is no longer taught in any school of the kingdom — no support
- 4. It applies exclusively to words commencing with the letter c — score 7
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 8, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 9, line 4: ««-able» and «-ible» both mean «can be». «-able» is more common and usually follows a whole word you can recognise (enjoyable, readable); «-ible» often follows…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same doer «e» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓
Identify the principal origin of most silent letters in English words.
- 1. They represent sounds formerly pronounced, which the spelling has preserved — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 2. They were introduced in order to render spelling more difficult for pupils — no support
- 3. They represent sounds that will be pronounced in future — score 3
- 4. They were inserted by printers in order to fill the line — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 3, line 5: «Short, regular practice beats long battles. Five minutes a day with three to five words, as a game, works better than an hour of flashcards ending in tears. An…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗
Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the letter s in «island».
- 1. It indicates that the word is a plural noun — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It was inserted in the present century by lexicographers in order to distinguish the word from «Iceland» and from «highland» — no support
- 3. It was inserted by scholars in the erroneous belief that the word derived from Latin — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. It has been pronounced throughout the history of the word — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗
Ascertain the sound represented by the letters ei in the word «neighbour».
- 1. The sound /ie/, as in the word «height» — no support
- 2. The sound /ee/, as in the word «receive» — no support
- 3. No sound whatever, the letters being silent — ← Mova's choice · score 5
- 4. The sound /ay/, as in the word «eight» — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 10, line 2: «Silent letters are fossils of old speech. The k in «knife» and «knee» and the w in «write» and «wrong» were once said aloud; so was the b in «lamb», «climb» an…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «silent letters» (+3); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/10-i-before-e-silent-letters-and-famous-traps/