Ambiguities in "Apart from"

[albertino]

Some teachers said that "apart from" means "excluding the things/persons that follow", and cannot be used as an equivalent to "as well as".
On the other hand, some authoritative dictionaries, like the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, say otherwise as follows:

1
except for
We didn't see anyone all day, apart from a couple of kids on the beach.
Apart from the ending, it's a really good film.

2
as well as
Apart from his earnings as a football coach, he also owns and runs a chain of sports shops.
Quite apart from the cost, we need to think about how much time the job will take.

"Other than" also has the same problem.
Some say: "other than" = as well as
the others say:
"other than" = except, excluding
Worst still, some say it can only be used in negative statements, but some use it in postive. Alas, please help me out of the hell.

Any advice, sirs.

[Tdol]

I agree with the dictionary- it's a sort of contranym phrase. However, it's not as simple as 'as well as' to me. take your second example; while it recognises the importance of the cost, it now moves on to the time factor, so it does in a sense exclude further discussion of the money.

[albertino]

I agree with the dictionary- it's a sort of contranym phrase. However, it's not as simple as 'as well as' to me. take your second example; while it recognises the importance of the cost, it now moves on to the time factor, so it does in a sense exclude further discussion of the money.

What is the conclusion? Do you mean "Apart from" can be used for both, "except" and "as well as"?