except that vs. except for

by **Hei** Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:13 am

What are the differences?
"except that" should be followed by a clause.
How about "except for"? Can it be followed by a present participle?
Thanks in advance.

by **RonPurewal** Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:44 am

you can't use a present participle in that sort of situation, but you can use a gerund. the two are easily confused, because they look the same - both manifest as the -ing form - but the gerund is the version that's being used as a noun or noun equivalent.

in general, 'except for' can only be used with nouns, or with things that are equivalent to nouns.

--

here are a couple of outside threads i found on this topic. i think 'except' and 'except for' are, for the most part, fungible, but the real issue is the way in which the gmat uses them.
http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic460.html
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=329277

have you come across 'except' vs. 'except for' in any gmat problems? if so, does the official guide express any favoritism for one over the other?

by **Hei** Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:38 pm

Thanks Ron.
It doesn't come from any OG but a source that I am not supposed to discuss here or anywhere else ;-)
But I *think* that it is okay to discuss the concept ;-)

by **StaceyKoprince** Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:47 am

It's always okay to discuss concepts :)