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
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.)
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.
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
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