Skill: Vocabulary
Category: General English & Academic English
Level: Upper Intermediate
Positive Redundancy
Part Six
1- Giving Exception:
Except: A statement that does not include a particular thing or person.
Ex: The company is open every day except Fridays.
Apart from / aside from: used when mentioning one or two things that do not fit the main thing that you are saying, particularly when they are not important.
Ex: Aside from some mistakes that he made on the exam, he is a very adept student.
Ex: The singer was not very fantastic. Apart from that, it was a very good party.
Excluding/ not including: used to mention when something does not include in a particular group or thing
Ex: The computer costs $ 500, not including tax.
Ex: Excluding the computer operators, all other employees were fired out of the company.
Other than: this phrase is usually used in negative sentences meaning except
Ex: I have no interest other than being a consultant.
Ex: No one other than you, knows my secrets.
2- Words meaning reason
motive: the reason that gets someone to do something, especially something dishonest.
Ex: Why did they sentence him in jail? They had no motive.
Ex: They didn’t have any motives behind their decision.
ground: a reason that makes it right for someone to do something.
Ex: He was obliged to accept that troublesome position on purely economic grounds. (only for economic reason)
Ex: He was not allowed to enter the country on the grounds that he wanted to enter illegally. (for that reason)
Rationale: a series of reasons that someone uses to explain why they need to do something.
Ex: At the beginning of my presentation, I will strive to provide a rationale for the approach.
Ex: The teacher outlines or describes the rationale behind the failure of most of the students.
Justification: a reason why you think it is right to do something, especially something that seems wrong or unfair to other people
Ex: The government’s main justification for the taxes was to bring justice among the poor and rich people in the society.
Ex: There is no justification for killing a human being under and condition.
Basis: reasons, arguments, the main ideas etc on which something is based
Ex: There is no basis for what you said.
Ex: Piaget and Vygotsky provided a theoretical basis for cognitive development in humans.
pretext: a false reason that someone gives in order to hid their real reason for doing something
Ex: The debate, they used religion as a pretext for their thoughts.