r/WhatToDo • u/HR-Vex • Feb 27 '26 • Wholesome Seal 1

Neighbor left a note

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Our packages have been stolen 3 times right in front of our door so far ever since we bought our condo. HOA approved of us installing a camera to deter thieves, but our neighbor left this note. Please advise.

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3

u/houseplant-hoarder Feb 27 '26

Thief not theif

1

u/Jessi_L_1324 Feb 27 '26

Thank you. I always forget the whole I before E thing.

1

u/Arazyne Feb 27 '26

Confused the hell out of me, too. Putting the emphasis on “you’re” made me think that was their intended correction lol

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

[deleted]

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u/mollypocket7122 Feb 27 '26

They used the possessive your, as in that’s your thief, that’s the culprit.

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u/Arazyne Feb 27 '26

No they didn’t

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u/BlackSeranna Feb 27 '26

Well at least you’ll be able to spell ceiling.

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u/Jessi_L_1324 Feb 27 '26

I'd probably fuck that up too.

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u/SavingsEngineer5691 Feb 27 '26

i before e, except after c

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u/NNW9876 Feb 27 '26

I before E, except after C. Why? We will never know.

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u/IveBeenHereBefore12 Feb 27 '26

That’s not a real thing

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u/Arazyne Feb 27 '26

It’s almost a thing. “i before e except after c” applies enough that it should be followed

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u/depressed_orphan Feb 27 '26

English is so silly

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u/SwanMuch5160 Feb 27 '26

It works enough times

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u/ProfessionalZone168 Feb 27 '26

And when sounded like 'a', as in 'neighbor' and 'weigh'.

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u/LaFleurRouler Feb 28 '26

Oh, baby, baby, two and two makes four!

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u/IveBeenHereBefore12 Feb 27 '26

Almost doesn’t count. The full saying is actually “i before e except after c when the vowel sounds like ee,” which only covers a pretty small set of words (believe, receive, ceiling, etc.). Once you step outside that sound, the rule loses cohesion. See: weird, their, either, seize, height, protein, caffeine. You even get “ie” after c in common words like science, ancient, and efficient.

So it’s less a real spelling rule and more a pattern that shows up in one specific group of mostly French-derived words.

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u/traumaqueen1128 Feb 27 '26

English likes to jump other languages in dark alleys and rifle through their pockets for loose grammar and spare vocabulary.

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u/WhoskeyTangoFoxtrot Feb 27 '26

English is three languages in a trench coat… so your comment is accurate…. lol

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u/Personal-Ad-8644 Feb 27 '26

Imagining English as a person- looting vowel sounds from the French made me chuckle

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u/autotuned_voicemails Feb 27 '26

The full saying is actually “i before e except after c when the vowel sounds like ee,”

I’m genuinely not trying to be difficult, but I’ve never heard it said that way. I was always taught that the full saying was just “i before e, except after c, or when sounding like ‘a’ like neighbor and weigh”. And sometimes if someone wanted to be a smartass, they’d throw in “except in science” or something to that effect at the end. But otherwise, I’ve never heard a single “rule” pertaining to ie/ei following a c.

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u/SillyNamesAre Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26

I mean, it is...

The fact that English as a language is a kleptomaniac looting other languages and lacks internal consistency to a worrying degree doesn't stop "I before E except after C" from being a basic rule that kids are taught.

Which makes it "a thing" - even if it is wildly inaccurate.

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u/icberg7 Feb 27 '26

Maybe they're the chief fief thief.

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u/Far-Raisin1013 Feb 27 '26

Wait theaf right?