Al Sparber wrote:
In any case, we are dealing with a language (English, that is) which
produced the rule "I before E except when it's not." I know, it used
to be "...before C" but that's not actually true ("weird" isn't it).
Crazy language :)
Except it's not a rule but an aid to correct spelling. you could say I
SHOULD be before E EXCEPT where usage dictated otherwise. It seems
silly to sty and define something in a rule when there are so many
exceptions. Like saying 'every day is a Tuesday except when it's not'
is not an indication of a Crazy time system but an indication of a bad rule.
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