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 Fri Jul 04, 2008 5:16 am Could it be "except on"? |
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The most correct would be "on".
I think you've learned the phrase "except for" and overgeneralized it.
"Except" can be used with almost any other preposition: "I never go to the movies, except with my sister." |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4337
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| Fri Jul 04, 2008 5:20 am Could it be "except on"? |
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| Oh thank you very much. I've got it |
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Linh Bui Hoang
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 07 Jan 2008
Posts: 44
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| Fri Jul 04, 2008 11:31 am Could it be "except on"? |
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Hi, Jamie
By the way, is it true that Americans rarely shake hands except on business occasions? Don't you shake hands with your colleagues at work, when you just came to work and see them, or when you're leaving for home ? Or do you just say "hello"/"goodbye" ? |
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 lost_soul
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 15 Sep 2006
Posts: 1808
Location: South Park, Colorado, USA
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| Fri Jul 04, 2008 12:05 pm Could it be "except on"? |
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| whereas "for" may follow "except" on many occasions, as I have just demonstrated in this sentence, you tend to do things "on" occasions, and in this instance the "on" rule wins over the "for" rule |
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Benjamin
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 23 Jun 2008
Posts: 96
Location: London
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| Fri Jul 04, 2008 13:06 pm Could it be "except on"? |
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| lost_soul wrote: | Hi, Jamie
By the way, is it true that Americans rarely shake hands except on business occasions? Don't you shake hands with your colleagues at work, when you just came to work and see them, or when you're leaving for home ? Or do you just say "hello"/"goodbye" ? |
We shake hands when we are introduced to someone for the first time or introduce ourselves for the first time. We also shake hands to congratulate someone for some achievement, which is why sometimes the sentence, "Let me shake your hand!" has a similar meaning to "congratulations". We also shake hands to make a bet official.
We don't shake hands when we walk into work or leave work. Basically, shaking hands is for special occasions, so we don't shake hands on routine occasions with people we routinely see. If I quit a job and come back to the same place five years later, my coworkers might shake hands as a way of welcoming me. The next day nobody will shake hands.
We also don't walk up and kiss people unless it's very emotional and there's some reason involving romantic love or love within the family. I don't like it when some Mexican girl walks up and kisses me on the cheek, or when some Slavic girl kisses me on the lips as a means of greeting me. It confuses me, because kissing for us is not just a way of saying "hi".
Also, when we drink, we only clink our glasses together on special occasions that deserve a special toast. This might be when someone lands a new job, has a new baby, or has had some other success in life. We don't do it just because we have sat down to the table with friends for a drink. You Slavs and other East Europeans drive me crazy with this social necessity of clinking your glasses together every time they get filled again. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4337
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| Fri Jul 04, 2008 13:58 pm Could it be "except on"? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: | | Also, when we drink, we only clink our glasses together on special occasions that deserve a special toast. This might be when someone lands a new job, has a new baby, or has had some other success in life. We don't do it just because we have sat down to the table with friends for a drink. You Slavs and other East Europeans drive me crazy with this social necessity of clinking your glasses together every time they get filled again. |
Yeah, I find it somewhat annoying either. But when I'm in company, I can't balk at following our customs, or I will be getting curious looks from the others 
By the way, which sentences do you use when you come into work?
1. I walk into work (you used it)
2. I come into work
3. I come to work
Thanks !
_________________
Alex
How much upchuck would a woodchuck upchuck if a woodchuck could upchuck ?
(a guy from Russia) |
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lost_soul
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 15 Sep 2006
Posts: 1808
Location: South Park, Colorado, USA
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| Fri Jul 04, 2008 14:30 pm Could it be "except on"? |
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| When you come to work in the morning, we use, "Hello!" "Hi!" "Good morning!" or, "Do you have that project done I told you to have finished before you left last night?" or some similar phrase. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4337
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| Fri Jul 04, 2008 16:57 pm Could it be "except on"? |
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| lost_soul wrote: | | By the way, is it true that Americans rarely shake hands except on business occasions? Don't you shake hands with your colleagues at work, when you just came to work and see them, or when you're leaving for home ? Or do you just say "hello"/"goodbye" ? |
By the way, Alex, I always associate that handshaking behavior when coming into work with a specific type of culture. When I hear that in some country one has to shake hands with everybody when coming in to work every day, I usually think the country has one of those cultures where the people come to work, shake hands, chit-chat for quite a while, do a little work, have a cigarette, chit-chat, do a little more work, have a really long lunch and maybe a siesta afterward, chit-chat after the siesta, smoke a cigarette, work a little, smoke another cigarette, chat a bit, do a little more work, and then knock off early for a drink.
I could be wrong about this, of course.
This difference actually causes culture clashes in the workplace. For example, when a large number of Mexicans is put into the workplace with a lot of Americans, they spend their usual time shaking hands and talking at the beginning of the day, and the Americans get annoyed, feeling that the Mexicans are avoiding work. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4337
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| Sat Jul 05, 2008 6:51 am Could it be "except on"? |
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| Thank all of you very much for such precious information |
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Linh Bui Hoang
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 07 Jan 2008
Posts: 44
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| By God vs My God | Expression: "Nobody said he didn't want cake." |
