Choose the appropriate word from the following options to fill in the blank in the sentence:-
All the staff members attended the meeting today ____ Mr. Roger who was unwell.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → except
Except (preposition) means not including, apart from. All the staff came, but Mr. Roger, who was unwell, did not, so he is left out of "all".
Complete sentence: All the staff members attended the meeting today except Mr. Roger who was unwell.
Example: The shop is open every day except Sunday.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: accept — Incorrect. Accept (verb) means to agree to take something. It sounds like except but is a verb and cannot join "meeting" to "Mr. Roger".
Example: Please accept this small gift.
Option 2: excerpt — Incorrect. An excerpt is a short piece taken from a book, film or speech; it makes no sense in this sentence.
Example: The teacher read an excerpt from the novel.
Option 3: expect — Incorrect. Expect means to think that something will happen; it is a verb and does not fit after "today".
Example: We expect rain this evening.
Contrast: "except" (preposition) leaves someone or something out; "accept" and "expect" are verbs, and "excerpt" is a noun for a short piece taken from a text.