Writing Tips: Accept vs Except

English can be confusing when the words are so similar...

Accept or Except?

Today’s writing tip helps you avoid the infamous confusion between the words accept and except. In the United States, the real problem with these words is in how they are pronounced in day to day usage. Let’s start by defining the words.

The verb Accept means “to approve”of something, or “to receive”  something.
An example of its usage would be: “I accepted the student loan.”

The preposition Except means to “exclude” something, or to “leave something out.”
An example of its usage would be: “He liked all the cars on the lot except the blue Mazda.”

The word Except can also be a verb, which probably contributes to part of the confusion. As a verb, the meaning of the word is the same, “to leave something out” or “to exclude something.” I must admit that in spoken language, I rarely hear the word Except used this way as the word Exclude seems to convey the same meaning in a much clearer way.
Example: “She excepted all the vegetables from her list of groceries.”

Today’s challenge is to listen carefully to people as they speak. Can you point out someone using these words incorrectly?

Happy writing!

Justin