Except vs. Accept

Table of Contents

Accept receives.

Except something or someone.

Except

• excludes something or someone
• used as a verb, but not common
• used as a conjunction combining two independent clauses, similar to “unless”
• used as a preposition which leaves someone or something out
  • Put a big “X” over what follows
• comma before?
  • the key is whether or not the “except” changes the meaning of the sentence
    • if the sentence meaning is changed, then no comma
    • if the “except” phrase is explanatory, then a comma is needed

I checked with CMOS and AP. Neither gave a rule for a comma before “except.” However, CMOS used it in sentences with no comma. AP used it both ways. I checked several dictionary sites and found mostly sentence examples that did not use commas.

My take on whether or not it changes the meaning of a sentence is that most of the time it would. In the situation “all … except …,” the “except” means “not all.”

Accept

• a verb, the action of receiving
• its noun is “acceptance”

The meanings and uses of “except” and “accept” are different.

Examples:

• The cows were all black and white except the new one, who was brown and white.
  • (“except” [preposition] notices the different in color)
• Since cows are supposed to be color blind, they accepted her as an equal.
  • (“accepted” [verb] = took her as a friend like the others)

• All the players on the team were boy except for the kicker, a girl.
  • (“except” [preposition] tells us that “all” is not the case)
• When she kicked the winning field goal, even the reluctant boys accepted her.
  • (“accepted” [verb] = considered her to be one of them)

Credits: Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel, Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash