except
- 01 A2 Elementary
prep.not including a particular person or thing.
prep.used to introduce an exception to a general statement. It functions as a preposition followed by a noun or pronoun.
Simple“The museum is open every day except Monday.”
In context“The entire department attended the gala except the senior manager, who had to remain at the office to handle an emergency.”
PitfallEveryone except I was invited. Everyone except me was invited.When 'except' is a preposition, use the object form of the pronoun (me, him, her, us, them).
- 02 B1 Intermediate
conj.used before a statement that explains why something is not possible or true.
conj.used to introduce a clause that forms an exception to what has just been said.
Simple“I would have arrived on time, except the bus was late.”
In context“The renovation was completed ahead of schedule, except that the final inspection revealed several minor electrical faults.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
v.to disagree or argue against something.
v.to take exception or object to a statement or action. This intransitive use is typically followed by the preposition 'to'.
Simple“The lawyer excepted to the witness's statement during the trial.”
In context“The minority shareholders excepted to the proposed merger, arguing that the valuation of the company was significantly underestimated.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is rare in modern English; students will mostly encounter 'take exception to' instead.
Borrowed from Middle French excepter, from Latin exceptus.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.