Difference Between Accept and Except

The main difference between accept and except is that accept means to agree with something while except means to separate or exclude something from another. Therefore, these two words have two contrasting meanings.

Moreover, the word accept is a verb while except is often a preposition, and it also acts as a verb in a very formal context. Nevertheless, these two words accept and except are often misinterpreted due to their similarity in the spellings.

Key Areas Covered

1. What Does Accept Mean
     – Definition, Grammatical Category, Usage, Examples
2. What Does Except Mean
    – Definition, Grammatical Category, Usage, Examples
3. Difference Between Accept and Except
     – Comparision of Key Differences

Difference Between Accept and Except - Comparison Summary

What Does Accept Mean?

Accept is the verb form of the noun Acceptance. Accept means to agree or approve something. Merriam Webster provides several definitions to Accept such as:

  • to receive something willingly (He accepted my Christmas present)
  • to give admittance or approval to ( The Professor accepted our invitation)
  • to agree to undertake such as a responsibility (Carol accepted the position as the statistic manager of the company.)
Difference Between Accept and Except

Figure 01: Andrea accepted his proposal.

Consider the following example sentences:

The restaurant accepts all types of VISA payments.

Jon accepted his apologies.

She decided to accept her appointment as chairman.

What Does Except Mean?

The word Except is a preposition, which means ‘with the exclusion or exception of something’. It is also used as a conjunction and as a verb.

The Preposition Except

Helene obtained A+ for all the subjects except for French.

The restaurant will be open except on Saturdays.

Main Difference - Accept vs Except

Figure 02: He likes to eat everything except eggs.

The Conjunction Form of Except

It is a well-known fact that my uncle never leaves the house except on weekends to attend the Mass.

She does nothing except watching television.

Moreover, Except also acts as a verb both as a verb, though in a formal context.

As a transitive verb, except means to take, leave out from a number or a whole or to exclude

The Minister took steps to except every protocol impeding the ongoing construction work in the area.

What is the Difference Between Accept and Except?

Definition

Accept: Means to agree with something

Except: means to exclude or separate something from some other thing

Grammatical Category

Accept: Used as a verb

Except: Often a preposition, sometimes used as a conjunction and also as a verb in a formal context

Conclusion

The two words accept and except are often misinterpreted by many English language learners. The difference between accept and except is that accept means to approve something while except means to exclude something from something else.

Image Courtesy:

1. “995047” (CC0) via Pixabay
2.”High Line Nyc Marriage Proposal” By Victorgrigas – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia

About the Author: Upen

Upen, BA (Honours) in Languages and Linguistics, has academic experiences and knowledge on international relations and politics. Her academic interests are English language, European and Oriental Languages, Internal Affairs and International Politics, and Psychology.

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