Exception – Saying ‘..except’
The most common word used for exception is illā إلّا. The rules of إلّا are as follows:
If it is preceded by an affirmative sentence, the noun that follows إلّا will be accusative
قام القومُ إلا زيدًا
The people stood up except for Zaid
If إلّا is preceded by a negative sentence then it has no grammatical effect. The word after إلّا takes the case it normally would based on its role in the sentence.
ما قامَ إلا زيدٌ
No one stood up except Zaid
ما رأيتُ إلا زيدًا
I did not see (anyone) except Zaid
There are other words used for exception as well like
غير، سواء، ما عدا، خلا and خاشا