Besides, Other than, But, Except, Except for

Question

Is there something that is not the apple on the table?
Is there something but the apple on the table?

Are they the same in meaning?

I can eat everything but tomatoes.
I can eat everything that is not tomatoes.

I know they are the same. But I think it’s because of “everything”. “Something” means a thing.

I want to know what to use instead of “but”.

Answer 1

You can use both everything and something. Something isn’t a specific object it is just an object.

Your second example sounds much more common than the first example regarding the apple.

If you use the first apple sentence you need a comma as it has a subordinate clause:

Is there something, but the apple, on the table?

For the tomatoes sentence the first sentence is much more common than the second sentence.

Instead of but try using except:

I can eat everything except tomatoes

Or apart from:

I can eat everything apart from tomatoes

Or not including:

I can eat everything not including tomatoes