用法一 表示“除……外”。如:
Except for her, everyone came. 除她外,大家都來了。
We had a very pleasant time, except for the weather. 除了天公不作美外,我們過得很愉快。
比較 except for 與 except:
except主要用來談論同類的東西,而 except for 則主要用來談論不同類的東西。如:
All compositions are well written except yours. 除了你的作文外,其他的作文都寫得很好。
His composition is good except for a few spelling mistakes. 他的作文寫得不錯,只是有幾處拼寫錯誤。
另外,若用於句首,則兩者同義,但此時通常用 except for。如:
Except for John, everyone was tired. / Everyone was tired except John. 除約翰外,大家都累了。
用法二 表示“若不是,要不是”。如:
Except for John, they would all have died. 要不是因為約翰,他們就都會死了。
注:按傳統語法,except for 不用於虛擬語氣,但在現代英語中它用於虛擬語氣的情況已比較普遍。