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Vocabulary: “besides”, “except” and “apart from”

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“besides”, “except” and “apart from” are all prepositions.

We use them to define what we want to include or exclude in a discussion.

besides

  • We use “besides” to add something to the discussion.
  • It has a similar meaning to “with” or “plus”.
  • When we use “besides”, we are including something in the discussion and then adding to it.
Besides a cat, I also have a dog and a hamster.
Hamster

This means that I have a total of 3 animals.
I am including the cat.
In addition to the cat, I also have a dog and a hamster.

Do you speak any other languages besides English?

I know you speak English. I am including English in the discussion. But in addition to English, do you speak any other languages?


Mark has lots of hobbies besides playing football.

“playing” is a gerund. A gerund is the -ing form of a verb when we want to use the verb as a noun.
Therefore “playing football” is a noun phrase.
In this sentence, we are including “playing football” as one of Mark’s hobbies. But in addition to “playing football”, Mark has other hobbies. We are adding to the discussion.

except (for)

  • We use “except (for)” to substract something from the discussion.
  • It has a similar meaning to “without” or “minus”.
  • When we use “except (for)”, we are excluding something from the discussion.
I like all animals except (for) hamsters.

I do not like hamsters. But I like all other animals.
I am excluding hamsters from the list of animals that I like.

All of my friends were at the party except (for) David.

David was not at the party. All of my other friends were at the party.
David is excluded from the list of people present at the party.
We susbtract David from the list of people at the party.

except or except for?

We can use “except” or “except for” in general statements after generalising words (all, everyone, nobody, every, no, whole):

I like all animals except for hamsters. tick
I like all animals except hamsters. tick

We only use “except for” in statements which are NOT general statements and do NOT come after generalising words:

I like animals except for hamsters. tick
I like animals except hamsters. cross

apart from

  • “apart from” is a combination of “besides” and “except (for)”.
  • “apart from” can mean “including” or “excluding”.
Apart from a cat, I also have a dog and a hamster.

This sentence has the same meaning as “Besides a cat, I also have a dog and a hamster.”
I’m including the cat in the list of animals I have and I am adding a dog and a hamster to that list.
(Notice the word “also” to make it clear that we are adding to something we have included.)

Next week, I’ll be in London every day apart from Monday.

This sentence has the same meaning as “Next week, I’ll be in London every day except (for) Monday.”
I will NOT be in London next Monday. But I will be in London on all the other days.
I’m excluding Monday from the list of days that I will be in London.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. DEAR ANDREW, VERY NICE LESSON …..BUT IT IS NOT VERY CLEAR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXCEPT AND EXCEPT FOR. COULD YOU PLEASE SHOW SOME MORE EXAMPLES. THANK YOU.
    CATERINA.

  4. Very nice lessons
    But I am really can’t understand clearly what’s the different between except nd except for
    Will you show us more of examples
    Please

  5. Thank you Andrew, it was really helpful Lesson besides of other Lessons which you have listed there.

  6. Besides running I like to jogging and watching TV
    Besides of user-friendly it’s is good at performance and cheaper too.
    Every day, I do cooking, cleaning and besides that I go to walking.
    Besides water pollution and air pollution, the noise pollution can harm the environment
    Besides nicely written story, Wonder woman was executed very cleverly
    Apart from nicely written, it was also nicely executed.

  7. I always confused using Besides and apart from, and this blog helped me to understand the difference between those. I really appreciate the blogger for the great and detailed explanation.
    I would be grateful if you publish similar kind of confusing words with such great examples.

  9. When ‘except’ is used at the beginning of a sentence, it is usually followed by ‘for’

  10. I need help with the following sentence:
    a. Apart from one minor accident, we had a great time
    b. Except for one minor accident, we had a great time.
    Could you explain why option a is marked as the wrong choice in my book?
    Thanking you in advance

  11. I have a cat beside a dog.

    I have a cat apart from a dog..

    Is these sentence both same meaning ❓

    …
    Do you like to eat mutton beside beef?

    Do you like to eat mutton apart from beef?..

    Is these sentence hold same meaning?..