ENGLISH
REFERENCE

with the exception of sb/sth

prep. phr..
C1 Advanced Oxford

prep. phr.. you use this to point out the only person or thing that is not included in a general statement.

prep. phr.. a complex prepositional phrase used to introduce an exclusion from a general category or statement; functions as a formal alternative to 'except for'.


SIMPLE

Everyone was invited, with the exception of Mark.

CONTEXTUAL

The museum is open every day of the week with the exception of public holidays.

COMPLEX

The research team concluded that the hypothesis held true in every trial, with the exception of the final controlled experiment conducted in December.

Usage

highly formal and typically used in writing or professional speech rather than casual conversation.

Teaching tip

encourage students to use this in formal essays to replace the more common 'except for' or 'but'; highlight that 'sb/sth' represents the noun phrase that follows.

Pitfall

With the exception for the rain, it was a good day.With the exception of the rain, it was a good day.the phrase is fixed with the preposition 'of'; using 'for' is a common confusion with the synonym 'except for'.

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