except for something—
1. apart from smth.; not considering smth.:
- The streets were eerily empty, except for a few cars rushing here or there.
2. if it were not for smth.:
- It seems that work is ready to proceed there, except for lack of funding.
except something—with the exclusion of smth.:
- It seemed that every house except ours had a Christmas tree.
Note: Neither expression fully correlates in meaning with the phrase with the exception of something—
1. = except for something 1:
- The streets were empty, with the exception of a few vendors who wanted an early days’ start.
2. = except something:
- Due to the fog all the flights (with the exception of ours) were cancelled.