[Omah]

Originally Posted by daniel-lewis-1985

I know this sounds really dumb but i thought it was "I before E except after C" So why is it their?

Teachers lied to me

'their'

Origin:

1150–1200; Middle English < Old Norse theirra; replacing Old English thāra, thǣra;

i before e except after c

Most people know the spelling rule about i before e except after c.

The rule only applies when the sound represented is ‘ee’, though. It doesn’t apply to words like science or efficient, in which the –ie- combination does follow the letter c but isn’t pronounced ‘ee’.

There are a few exceptions to the general i before e rule, even when the sound is ‘ee’. Examples include seize, weird, and caffeine. There’s nothing for it but to learn how to spell these words, checking in a dictionary until you are sure about them.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/...except-after-c