There is often confusion over the words accept and except. They sound
similar, but their meanings are very different.
Accept
'To accept' is a verb.
It has several meanings:
To hold something as
true.
 The
officer accepts your point and has decided to let you off with a caution. 
I accept she may have been tired, but that's still no excuse. |
To receive something
willingly.
I
accept this award on behalf of the whole cast.
Do you
accept dogs in your hotel? |
To answer 'yes'
(especially to an invitation).
The
minister would love to accept the invitation to your ball, but she has a
prior engagement. |
Except
The word 'except' is most commonly seen as a preposition.
However, it can also be used a conjunction
and very occasionally as a verb.
Except as a
preposition means 'apart from', 'not including' or 'excluding'.
I thought
everyone played well except Lee and Mark.
The show
went to plan except the scene with the donkey.
|
Except as a conjunction
means 'but' or 'if not the fact that'.
I would go
swimming, except I am scared of big fish.
|
Except as a verb means
'to exclude'.
You
are excepted from the ruling. |
Select the correct version:
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EXCEPT = EXCLUDING
Let the first two letters of except remind you that it means excluding.
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Common grammar errors
