Accept and Except

Use 'accept' to mean receive or agree, and 'except' to mean leaving something out.

'Accept' means to take something that is offered, or to agree to it: 'Please accept this gift' or 'She accepted the invitation. ' 'Except' means 'but not' or 'leaving out': 'Everyone went swimming except Leo. ' A trick: 'except' starts with ex, like 'exit' or 'exclude', which are about going out or leaving out.

'Accept' starts with ac, and you can think of it as 'accepting' something that comes to you. Try a sentence with both: 'I accept every snack except raisins. ' I take every snack that is offered, but I leave out raisins. Reading carefully matters here: 'except' changes who or what is included, so misreading it can flip the meaning of a sentence.

• 1accept = take or agree to.
• 2except = but not; leaving out.
• 3ex- words like exit and exclude are about leaving out.