Except for/But for your timely advice ...

[sitifan]

______ your timely advice, I would never have known how to go about the work.
(A) Unless (B) But for (C) Except for (D) Not for
Source: A Dictionary of Answers to Common Questions in English, by Zhao Zhencai, page 447.
The answer is option B. Is option C is also acceptable?

 

[5jj]

Not to me.

 

[jutfrank]

The best word is 'Without'.

Both 'But for' and 'If not for' also work, but 'Not for', 'Except for' and 'Unless' are wrong.

 

[sitifan]

Except for her lack of experience she would be the ideal person for the job. (My bold.)
Source: A Dictionary of Answers to Common Questions in English, by Zhao Zhencai, page 447.
Is the above sentence acceptable to native speakers?

 

[jutfrank]

If it were not for her lack of experience, she would be the ideal person for the job.

 

[sitifan]

Except for her laziness, he would be a good student. (My bold.)
Source: A Dictionary of Answers to Common Questions in English, by Zhao Zhencai, page 447.
Is the above sentence acceptable to native speakers?

 

[jutfrank]

Are all of these sentences taken directly from that book? If so, what's the "common question" here? Is the book saying it's acceptable or unacceptable? Do you just want to learn how 'except for' works?

Tell us what you're doing and we can help you more effectively.

 

[sitifan]

The author thinks that "except for" and "but for" are interchangeable but I doubt it.

 

[jutfrank]

There may be cases where the two are interchangeable logically, but in most contexts they aren't.

Here's my advice to you:

1) For simple exclusion, use 'except (for)':

Everyone was there except David.

2) For hypotheticals, use 'if it weren't for', not 'but for'.

If it weren't for my good looks, she would never have spoken to me.

3) Stop reading bad books about the English language.

 

[emsr2d2]

The author thinks that "except for" and "but for" are interchangeable no full stop here but I doubt it.

Note my corrections above. As a learner, don't try to start a sentence with "but" (except in specific circumstances such as sentences starting with "But with"). Whenever you're using "but" to mean "however", it should appear anywhere except at the beginning and end of the sentence.