Have you noticed how often the pairs of words that are commonly confused are antonyms (opposites)? One such pair is accept and except.
Accept is always a verb, and it means to receive or agree with or say yes to.
- Melanie accepted the award for perfect attendance.
- We don’t accept personal checks.
Except can be a verb, a preposition, or a conjunction. However it’s used, its meaning is the opposite of accept. As a verb, except means to omit, exempt, or exclude. Here are some examples:
- Melanie was excepted from the scholarship recipients. (verb)
- I go to work every day except Sunday. (preposition)
- She would have gone, except it was too far away. (conjunction)
- Everyone left except for me. (preposition)
If you’re unsure which verb to use, try substituting a synonym for the word you’ve used: accept – receive or agree; except – omit or exclude. That should clear up the confusion.
If you’ve mastered these, congratulations: you’re an exceptional writer.
