Common mistakes
Accept or except: meaning, pronunciation, and sentence use
The shop can accept card payments, but every payment method is welcome except cash. One word describes receiving; the other marks an exclusion.
Choose accept when something is received or agreed to, and except when something is left out of a group or statement.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
accept and except /əkˈsept/ and /ɪkˈsept/
The short answer
Use accept for receiving or agreeing to something. Use except for saying that something does not belong in the group you have just named.
Lena accepted the invitation, but everyone except Omar arrived late.
Why it works: Accepted tells us what Lena did. Except Omar identifies the person outside the group of late arrivals.
3 more examples
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The museum accepts contactless payments.
Accepts is a verb. The museum allows and receives this form of payment.
Not this:The museum is open every day
except Monday. What changes: Except removes Monday from the stated group of opening days. -
Ravi accepted the manager's apology.
Ravi received the apology and treated it as sincere.
Not this:Everyone accepted the apology
except Ravi. What changes: Except Ravi identifies the one person who did not accept it. -
We accept that the instructions were unclear.
Accept introduces agreement with the statement that follows.
Not this:The instructions were clear
except for the final step. What changes: Except for removes one part from the general statement.
Read the full guide
Look at the job the word must do. Does the sentence need an action such as receive, agree to, or allow? Choose accept. Does it need to remove one item from a group? Choose except.
Use accept for an action
Accept is usually a verb, so it describes what a person or organisation does. Someone can accept an invitation, a gift, an offer, or an apology.
Mina accepted a place on the course.
Mina performed an action: she agreed to take the place. That is why the sentence needs accept.
Use except to leave something out
Except introduces the person, thing, time, or situation that does not belong in a larger group. It often follows words such as all, every, everyone, or nothing.
All the seats were taken except the one near the door.
The sentence first names all the seats, then removes one seat from that group.
Check what comes after the word
Accept is normally followed by the thing received or agreed to. Except is followed by the item excluded from the group. This quick check helps when the two words sound alike.
The hotel accepts pets. The hotel has rooms for every guest except pets.
In the first sentence, pets are received. In the second, pets are excluded from the group of guests.
Which word fits before the noun offer when the speaker agrees to it?
Use accept: accept the offer. The offer is the thing the speaker agrees to.
Use except for with a detail
Except for is a common longer form. It can make the excluded detail easy to spot, especially after a complete statement.
The report was accurate except for one date.
One date is the exception. The rest of the report is described as accurate.
Choose by meaning
The words are close in sound, so spelling alone may not help when you are writing quickly. Pause and ask whether the sentence needs an action or an exclusion.
The committee accepted the proposal, except for the final budget figure.
Accepted describes the committee's decision. Except for introduces the one part that was not included in that decision.
Does except normally describe an action of receiving or agreeing?
No. In ordinary use, except introduces an item that is left out. Use accept for receiving or agreeing.
Before you go
Remember this
Choose accept for an action: accept an offer, accept an apology, or accept that something is true. Choose except to leave something out: everyone except Lina, every day except Sunday, or except for one detail.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Accept or except: meaning, pronunciation, and sentence use"
What is the main difference between accept and except?
Accept is usually a verb meaning to receive or agree to something. Except usually introduces the person or thing left out of a group. The museum accepts contactless payments, but it is open every day except Monday.
The museum accepts contactless payments.
Is accept a verb?
Yes. Accept normally describes an action, as in Ravi accepted the manager's apology. It can also mean agree with a statement, as in We accept that the instructions were unclear.
The museum is open every day except Monday.
How do I use except in a sentence?
Put except before the person, thing, or time that is excluded. In Everyone accepted the apology except Ravi, Ravi is the person outside the group that accepted it.
Ravi accepted the manager's apology.
What does except for mean?
Except for introduces a detail that does not fit the general statement. In The instructions were clear except for the final step, the final step is the part that was not clear.
Everyone accepted the apology except Ravi.
Why are accept and except easy to confuse?
The words have similar spelling and both stress the second syllable. Check the meaning before you write: accept is the action of receiving or agreeing, while except marks an exclusion.
We accept that the instructions were unclear.
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