I'd lend you my car except (that) I may need it later this afternoon. 这里的 except (that) 是什么意思？我在《远东英汉大辞典》和 ALD 中都没有查到它的含义。
这里的 except(that) 是连词, 相当于连词 only, 可译为“要不是”“只不过”“但是”。上面的句子可译为:
我本来是想把我的汽车借给你的，只是我今天下午晚些时候可能要用它。
类例：
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I would go except it's too late. (NELD) 要不是太晚的话,我会去的。
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I would have had a perfect score except I missed the last question. (ECD) 要不是漏掉了最后一道题,我会得满分的。
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I would buy a new suit except I have no money. (ECD) 我想买一套新衣服,只是没钱。
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I wouldn't have given it a second thought except the rungs were worn and muddy. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 要不是看到梯子中间的横档坏了发了霉,我才不会多想。(《达·芬奇密码》)
试比较：
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I would've asked you, only my mother told me not to. (CGEL) 要不是我妈妈告诉我不要去问你，我本来会问你的。
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I would have gone, only you objected. (ECD) 要不是你反对,我早就去了。请做下面的英语试题:
“Why didn’t Mary go?” “She ____ except she didn’t have time.”
A. would have gone B. will go C. would go D. be going(TOEFL)