grammer

Question

Except him, no one could answer the question Except for him, no one could answer the questionWhich one is correct and please state your mark to explain the reason also .

Tamguatlay · Accepted Answer

The sentences have the same meaning.

Mister Micawber · Answer

EXCEPT (FOR)

Here are four comments I gathered some years ago. Perhaps some of them will help.

When except is followed by a verb, we usually use the infinitive without “to”:
You can’t do anything except hope and pray.
He’ll do anything except work.

Except is also used with... that…
In general she was happy, except that she couldn’t spend enough time reading.

When except is followed by a thing or a person, it is usually followed by “for”:
They enjoyed the whole recital except for the last song.
The party was great, except for the shortage of ice.
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An abstract of a journal article on the 'problem' concludes: " 'except' and 'except for' can be used to mean 'with the exception of', but when it is used to mean 'if it were not for' only 'except for' can be used. Also, it is not advisable to begin a sentence with 'except' unless it is followed by 'for.' "

Several dictionaries treat the phrase as an idiom: except for: Were it not for: I would join you except for my cold.
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There is no major difference between 'except' and 'except for'. You use the word 'except' when you want to exclude any person/item that your main statement does not apply to: I love all my family except my young brother. He is always rude to the boy friends who come to visit me!'

'Except for' has much the same meaning. It excludes circumstances which may prevent your main statement from being true: The disco was completely empty except for a few couples who were trying, unsuccessfully, to dance to the DJ's choice of tapes.
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Here is a general distinction: both have the same meaning ('leaving out, not including') but they are different grammatically.

Except is a conjunction sometimes and a preposition sometimes. Except for is a preposition only.
( 1) He can do everything except cook.
( 2) I know nothing about the controversy except what I read in one newspaper story.

In sentences ( 1) and ( 2) we cannot use except for. In sentence ( 1) the conjunction except is followed by a verb phrase. In sentence ( 2) the conjunction except is followed by a clause. Because it is a preposition, except for is not possible in these two sentences.

— NB: I take odds with this explanation. The clause in ( 2) ('what I read...story') is a noun clause and can be the object of the phrasal preposition except for.

Tamguatlay · Answer

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