What is the difference between “Accept” and “Except”?
The terms accept and except are often confused because they have similar pronunciations but the two words have different implications, and they are not interchangeable. “Accept” is used to mean ‘to receive’ or ‘to take something willingly’ and “Except” is to means ‘not including’ or ‘other than’.
Examples-
- They offered him the job, and he accepted it.
- The stores open daily except Sunday.
Accept
The word accept is used as a verb. It has several meanings.
It can be used to believe something as true –
- I accept what you say is true.
- He accepted that he had done a mistake.
To receive something-
- Alex accepted the glass of whiskey.
- Kate Winslet accepts the Oscar award.
- She leaned forward and accepted his kiss.
- He cannot accept this gift.
To answer “yes” –
- I am pleased to accept your invitation.
Except
Except is most commonly seen as a preposition. In this function, it can mean “not including,” or “other than,”. it also uses as a conjunction that shows a contradiction in the sentence
“Except” as a preposition means “apart from,” “not including,” or “excluding.”
For example–
- I tell her everything, except the biggest thing in my life.
- The store opens every day except Sunday.
- Nothing else mattered except that she was alive.
- Except Rohit, everyone was present in the party
Except as a conjunction means “but”
- I am going to ride on a rollercoaster except I am scared of heights.
How to Remember the Difference between Accept and Except
Here is an easy trick to distinguish accept from except. The first two letters of the word Except means to exclude (ex- exclude).
