Can "besides" and "except for" have the same meaning in the following in British English?
The house is clean, besides/except for the kitchen.
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Oxford Languages gives the example "I have no other family besides my parents".– Kate BuntingCommented Feb 14, 2023 at 9:24
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@KateBunting That example has "besides" after a negative word, a position where "except for" and "besides" are more or less interchangeable. But my sentence has a different environment.– ApollyonCommented Feb 14, 2023 at 9:29
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Except for, besides, apart from, not counting - they all mean the same, whether the statement is negative or positive.– Kate BuntingCommented Feb 14, 2023 at 9:32
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1 Answer
These two words can seem interchangeable and may deliver the same meaning in specific contexts, but the definitions of 'besides' and 'except' are very different and give them each unique usage.
- 'Besides' means in addition to or as well as.
- An 'exception' is an exclusion.
At root meaning, they couldn't be more opposite. One includes, the other excludes.
An example of where they can mean the same, despite the difference, would be:
- I have no family except my parents.
- I have no family besides my parents.
Essentially, these mean the same thing - that your family consists of your parents and nobody else. But, the first example cites your parents as an exception to the statement that you have "no family", whereas the second is saying that your parents are your family but there are no others to add to that.
Your own example makes no sense with 'besides'. This is because the kitchen is an exception to the original statement, but it does not make sense to say the house is clean in addition to the kitchen, which is also part of the house.
You could say, for example, "Besides the kitchen, I have not cleaned the house" which would mean you have cleaned the kitchen, but not anywhere else.
answered Feb 14, 2023 at 13:55
