How to Use Accept and Except (Explained, With Examples)

August 6, 2025

5 min read

By Yash, D

Accept vs. except – accept (verb) means receiving something. Except is a preposition that means ‘but’ or ‘excluding’.

How to Use Accept and Except (Explained, With Examples)

How to use Accept vs. Except

Accept/except used in text conversation. — *Accept*/*except* shown in conversation.

Word	Sentence examples
accept (verb)	I accepted the job offer because the salary was excellent.
except (preposition)	Everyone went to the concert except for John, who was sick.

Did you accept the offer or except it? This post explains when to use accept vs. except so that you can learn the correct use with no exceptions!

The difference between except and accept

The answer is that you accept a job, but let’s see why.

Similar words

Word	Synonyms
accept	confirm, accede, assent (to), support, endorse, warrant, consent, welcome, abide, adopt, ratify, concede to, agree to, embrace, yield to
except	aside from, barring, besides, but, excluding, other than, save, apart from, outside of

For instance, “save” is more formal than “but” or “except.

Word origin of accept/except

Word Form	Examples
Past Participle	Late 14c., excepten, “to receive,” from Old French excepter (12c.), from Latin exceptus, past participle of excipere “to take out, withdraw; make an exception, reserve,” from ex “out” (see ex-) + capere.
Other	Late 14c., “to take what is offered; admit and agree to (a proposal, etc.),” from Old French accepter (14c.) or directly from Latin acceptare “take or receive willingly”.

to take out,” from ex + capere “to take.

In review: accept and except

“Except” and “accept” are two words that sound similar but have different meanings and uses:

Except: (preposition) and a conjunction; it’s less commonly used as a verb. As a preposition, ‘except’ means to exclude or leave out something from a group or category.

Accept: verb meaning to receive, take, or agree to something offered or presented; “She accepted the invitation to the party“.

Practice: Accept or except?

FAQs

What is the main difference?
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’Accept’ as a verb means to receive or agree to something willingly. ‘Except’ is primarily a preposition meaning excluding, as in “everyone went to the concert except for John.”

What part of speech is accept?
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’Accept’ is a transitive verb, for the most part. It means to receive something or agree to something, such as “I accepted the job offer” or “an idea that is widely accepted.”

What part of speech is except?
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’Except’ is primarily a preposition meaning excluding, like “The bakery is open every day except Mondays.” It can also function as a conjunction or, rarely, as a verb.

How can I check my usage?
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Try substituting synonyms to see which associated meaning works in the sentence context. Use ‘receive’ or ‘agree to’ for ‘accept’ and ‘excluding’ or ‘but’ for ‘except’ to see if the sentence conveys the intended meaning.

Can except be used as a verb?
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It’s less common to see ‘except’ used as a verb. When it is, it means similar to excluding or barring, illustrated by the example “present company, excepted.”

Sources

“Concede, V.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/4251648513.

Yash, D. "How to Use Accept and Except (Explained, With Examples)." Grammarflex, Aug 24, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/accept-vs-except/.

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