所有しないという意味の除外。
- Continue without me.
- I drink tea without sugar.
- He left without saying goodbye.
- Don't touch anything without asking.
［exept / except for］
取り除くという意味の除外。
- I work every day except Sunday.
- Everyone except me knew it.
- No one came except Mary.
- Nick doesn't watch TV except on Saturdays. （前置詞句がexceptの目的語）
- Except for the weather, it was a great picnic. （except forで１つの前置詞）
［but］
～以外（は全部）といった意味の除外。anythingやnothingの直後に良く用いられる。
- I'll do anything but that work.
- I didn’t tell anyone but my boss.
- Open the last page but one of the book.
以降の例文は前置詞とするか接続詞とするか判断の迷う所。
- I know nothing but that he came from China. （名詞節がbutの目的語）
- I had no choice but to go. （不定詞の名詞用法がbutの目的語）
- He is all but dead. （形容詞deadがbutの目的語）
- ≒ He is almost dead.
- He is anything but a gentleman.
- ≒ He is far from a gentleman.
［unless］
除外条件を挙げるのに使われる。
- The tax will be increased unless Lehman shock-class disaster.
- Nothing, unless a miracle, could save him.
- Unless malfunction, this machine makes exactly 600 parts per minutes.
※日記 に補足があります。
→ 文法 #35 前置詞の一覧
