有同学提出了这样的问题：

的确，except 和 except for 是两个很难区分的词，因为它们在意思上并没有差别。关于如何判断什么情况下该用哪个词也是众说纷纭，这里我们引用一下相对比较专业的"Practical English Usage"一书中的说法供大家参考：

【随报随学】新概念1-3册体验课

孔程程 苏延奇 李延隆
课时：15

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1. We use except (for) after general statements, especially after generalising words like all, every, no, everything, anybody, nowhere, whole, etc.
Except (for) 用于陈述整体情况，尤其是当前面有 all, every, no, everything, anybody, nowhere, whole 等表示整体概念的词。

例句：
He ate everything on his plate except (for) the beans.
He ate the whole meal, except (for) the beans.

2. In other cases we usually use "except for", not "except".
在其他情况下，我们通常用"except for"，而不用"except"。

比较：
- I've cleaned all the rooms except (for) the bathroom. (Except is possible after "all".)
- I've cleaned the house except for the bathroom. (NOT ... except the bathroom.)

- Nobody came except (for) John and Mary. (after "nobody")
- Except for John and Mary, nobody came. (before "nobody")

- You couldn't hear anything except (for) the noise of Louise typing.
- The house was quiet except for the noise of Louise typing.

3. We use "except", not "except for", before prepositions and conjunctions.
在介词和连词前，我们用"except"，不用"except for"。

例句：
It's the same everywhere except in Scotland.
He's good-looking except when he smiles.

◆ 来做些练习检验一下吧！

A. except
B. except for
C. Either could be used here.

看看以下题目分别该选哪个：

Q1 - They do nothing ____ complain all the time.

Q2 - I did everything ____ the last exercise.

Q3 - He's not very friendly ____ when he wants something.

Q4 - Everyone was there ____ Kumiko.

Q5 - There was complete silence ____ the sound of someone coughing.

Q6 - The weather was awful ____ in the south.

Q7 - I have no answer to the criticism, ____ to blame the short-sighted management.

Q8 - They have no one to blame for the trouble ____ themselves.

Q9 - New lightweight materials have replaced traditional ones ____ certain special uses.

Q10 - I can't remember anything ____ the pain after the operation.

答案反白可见→【 1. A 2. C 3. A 4. C 5. B 6. A 7. A 8. C 9. B 10. C 】

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