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English is a tricky language because it’s full of words that sound the same or similar but have totally different meanings. One example of this is accept vs. except.
These kinds of words are known as homophones because they have a similar pronunciation, but they have different spellings and meanings. There are hundreds of homophones in the English language, so we can be forgiven for getting some of them mixed up sometimes.
Let’s dig into the difference between accept and except. Take the mini quiz at the end of this blog post to test your knowledge.
Table of Contents
Meaning of Accept
Accept is a transitive verb that means to receive something willingly, to give approval to something, or to endure without protest.
Meaning of Except
Except is most often used as a preposition or a conjunction. As a preposition, it means with the exclusion of. As a conjunction, it means unless, only, or on the condition that. When used as a verb, except means to exclude or object to (take exception to).
Except modifies (describes or restricts the meaning of) the sentence.
Examples of Accept vs. Except
You will often see except being used incorrectly, whereas people usually use accept correctly. Here’s are examples of both words being used correctly in a sentence.
Examples of accept in a sentence:
Do you accept the terms of this contract?
They accepted her as one of their own almost immediately.
You don’t have to accept this job if you don’t want it.
Examples of except in a sentence:
The hair salons are open every day except Sundays. (Preposition)
I would love to go on a date with you except I’m washing my hair that night. (Conjunction)
Ambulances are excepted from speed limits in an emergency. (Verb)
One Trick to Remember the Difference
One way to remember the difference between accept and except is to remember that except starts with the letters ex, the same as the word excluding.
Except vs. Expect
Another word people frequency misuse instead of except is expect. I suspect that most of the mistakes made here are just typos as both words have exactly the same letters except that they’re in a different order.
Expect means to consider probable.
Example of expect in a sentence:
We expect her condition to improve rapidly once she’s had the surgery.
Grammar Posts
Different From vs. Different Than
Accept vs. Except Quiz
Choose the correct word in each sentence.
- Will you accept/except my apology for stealing your donut?
- All of the inmates watched the movie accept/except Jeremy, who had escaped.
- I could help you clean up accept/except I don’t want to.
- Sally accepted/excepted the applause even though it made her feel uncomfortable.
- Everyone is going to the play accept/except Mark because he finds theater seats uncomfortable.
Final Thoughts on Accept vs. Except
Although accept and except sound similar, their meanings are the opposite of each other, so it’s important to get them straight in your head. They are never used interchangeably.
Accept vs. Except Quiz Answers
- Will you accept my apology for stealing your donut?
- All of the inmates watched the movie except Jeremy, who had escaped.
- I could help you clean up except I don’t want to.
- Sally accepted the applause even though it made her feel uncomfortable.
- Everyone is going to the play except Mark because he finds theater seats uncomfortable.
Punctuation Posts
How to Use an Ellipsis: Chicago vs. AP Style
En Dash vs. Em Dash: When and How to Use Them
How to Use an Apostrophe (and Mistakes You Need to Avoid)
How to Use Commas (and Mistakes to Avoid)
Colon vs. Semicolon: When and How to Use Them
How to Use Quotation Marks (and the Difference between Single Quotes vs. Double Quotes)
