except v.s. except for

[lost_soul]

Hi, everyone

I am wondering when we must use except and when except for
After having done some research on the internet I came to the conclusion that we can use both except and except for if the meaning is but not, otherwise only except. Here I write 2 homemade examples:

Cartman invited everyone to his birthday except/except for Kyle.
The room was turned out impeccably except for a few nasty stains.

Do you think my thoughts are right or wrong ?

Thanks !
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Alex

A native speaker of Russian

[Alan]

Hi,

I would suggest that 'except' means not including/excluding as in:

The store is open every day until 8pm except Sundays when it closes at 5pm

'Except for' is more precise. In other words it means excluding/not including but makes the point that this is worth noting in particular as in:

All three children in the family went to the same school and passed their exams except for Henry, who left school without any examination successes.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[lost_soul]

Hi, Alan

Thank you again for your help !
_________________
Alex

A native speaker of Russian