The Day I Almost Missed the Bus: Understanding Accept vs. Except

 It was a Monday. Of course it was.

Coffee in one hand, phone in the other, I rushed toward the bus stop. My email buzzed again—

“We are pleased to except your application.”

Wait… Except?
Did they mean accept?

At that moment, I almost forgot I was chasing a bus. I stopped, reread, and chuckled.

One word. One tiny difference. But it completely flipped the meaning.

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📖 Introduction:

We’ve all been there—typing fast, replying to a message, or crafting an important email. You think you're being professional, but then boom—you write except instead of accept. Or maybe you've read it wrong and misunderstood a whole message.

It’s a common mix-up, and honestly? It happens to the best of us.

But here's the good news: once you understand the heart of each word, you'll never confuse them again. Let's break it down, with a little help from stories, of course.

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🎭 

Let me take you back to when my friend Maya applied for a job she really wanted. She was excited, nervous, and overly formal.

“I’m honored to except your offer,” she wrote in her thank-you email.

She hit send. A few minutes later, she reread what she’d written.

Her heart dropped. “Did I just say I refuse the job?”

Yep.

Cue the panicked phone call. Cue the rushed correction. Cue the hiring manager laughing and saying, “Don’t worry—we knew what you meant.”

But Maya learned her lesson. And now, so will you.

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🔍 Explanation:

Let’s get this straight:

✅ Accept (verb)

Means to agree, receive, or approve.

Think: welcoming something in.

Examples:

• I accept your apology.

• She was accepted into the university.

• He accepted the award with pride.

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❌ Except (usually a preposition or conjunction)

Means to exclude or leave out.

Think: everything but that.

Examples:

• Everyone was invited except Joe.

• I like all fruits except bananas.

• Except for one question, the exam was easy.

⚠️ Except can also be a verb (rarely), meaning “to leave out.”

They excepted certain applicants from the rule.

But you’ll almost always see it used to exclude something.

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🧠 Quick Trick to Remember:

• Accept = Agree, Accept

• Except = Exclude

If you’re including or receiving something → accept.
If you’re leaving something out → except.

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✨ Closing:

That job? Maya still works there. Her grammar mistake became a running joke in the office. And every time a new intern misuses accept or except, Maya just smiles and tells them her story.

You see, language isn't about being perfect—it’s about getting better, one mix-up at a time.

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📣

So, what about you?

Have you ever mixed up accept and except in a funny (or embarrassing) way? Or do you have a creative sentence using both?

👇 Drop your story or example in the comments! Let’s learn—and laugh—together. Grammar doesn’t have to be boring. Sometimes, it even makes you miss your bus.