Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[BMO]

Drivers must keep to the right lane except when passing another care.
Drivers must keep to the right lane except passing another care.

I think both are correct? Please advise, and thanks.

[helen1]

Hi BMO

Only the first is a complete construction.... By the way I think you have a spelling mistake - in both sentences you have written care - I believe this should be car.

Helen

[BMO]

Thanks. It was a typo; my mind was somewhere else.

[river1974]

I still have two questions about this discussion.

1) Drivers must keep to the right lane except when passing another care.

In sentence 1), is "except" used as a preposition or a conjunction?

2) She did nothing except complain while she was here.

Sentence 2) is an example quoted from an electronic dictionary, but I think it is weird. Shouldn't "complain" be modified to "complained" or "complaint" in this sentence?

Thanks in advance.

[helen1]

Hi river -

1. A conjunction connects two 'equal' clauses - here when passing another car does not make sense alone it is therefore a subordinate clause.
In sentence 1 therefore except is a preposition introducing the subordinate clause.

[river1974]

Thanks very much for you explanations, Helen1.
[/i]