Do you really think that accept vs. except are two similar words? Sometimes, writers get confused in choosing the correct word. They get confused because of same pronunciations. For instance, knew and new. Knew means to be aware of any information and it is the past participle of verb ‘know’; whereas new is adjective which means latest or recent.
Just like knew and new, accept and except are two totally different words. You don’t have to be confused because these words are called ‘homophones’.
Except vs. Accept – What is the Difference, Definition & Meanings?
Accept and except are homophones:
Homophones are the words that have same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings like I have given an example of knew and new.
Now, coming toward our confusing words accept and except.
Definition and examples of accept or except:
‘Accept is a verb.’
Accept: meaning to receive, take or to have something.
For instance;
- I was helpless, that’s why I accepted his proposal.
- A lot of shops won’t accept cheques unless you have a cheque card with you. – Reference (Cambridge Dictionary)
- I can’t accept this kind of rude behavior from my friends.
So, from the above examples, you are now clear that accept is a verb that has a very clear meaning.
On the other hand, except is not accept. It does not mean to receive or to take something.
Except is a verb; a conjunction; and sometimes used as a preposition too.
Except: meaning to exclude; to omit; or apart from.
You can use except differently in different situations. As I mentioned before that except can be used as a verb and sometimes as a preposition as well. Except as a verb is also used but in rare cases. Let us see that how except can be used in different situations.
Examples:
As a preposition:
- I have prepared all the yummy dishes for dinner, except rice.
- As a conjunction:
- She knows nothing about her except that she is young and beautiful.
– English Grammar.org
- As a verb:
- The company excepted the supply of unhygienic food because of some serious diseases.
Thus, from the above examples, you have come to know that you use except frequently as a preposition and a conjunction but not as a verb. But, don’t get confused again as it is not wrong to use except as a verb.
Conclusion:
It is concluded that accept versus except are homophones. It means that they have same pronunciation but different meanings and spellings. Accept can be used as a verb; but in terms of except, it is slightly different. Except is used in three different situations; as a verb, a conjunction, and a preposition.
Now, you can never forget that accept means to receive, to take or to have something from someone and it is always a verb. On the other hand, except means apart from, to omit, or to exclude and you can remember it with –ex as both except and exclude has -ex.