Sentence pattern · Band 3
除了……以外: apart from, besides
除了 A（以外），都/也 B
除了 marches someone out of the group, then reports on everyone left: apart from him, we all went to China. The 以外 is the exit door, optional but polite. Watch the partner word: 都 excludes, everyone but him; 也 or 还 adds, him too. Same frame, opposite stories, and the partner picks the one you are telling.
Hear it in a sentence
Mistakes people make
With 除了 followed by 都 the reading is excluding, everyone else; 也 is for the adding reading, and the two point opposite ways.
The thing being excluded sits right after 除了; 以外 closes the frame at the far end.
Words in this pattern
Quick answers
What does 除了……以外 mean?
除了 marches someone out of the group, then reports on everyone left: apart from him, we all went to China. The 以外 is the exit door, optional but polite. Watch the partner word: 都 excludes, everyone but him; 也 or 还 adds, him too. Same frame, opposite stories, and the partner picks the one you are telling.
How do you build it?
除了 A（以外），都/也 B
What is the most common mistake?
除了我，大家也来了。 → 除了我，大家都来了。
With 除了 followed by 都 the reading is excluding, everyone else; 也 is for the adding reading, and the two point opposite ways.
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