Except / besides with 除了 — Chinese grammar (HSK 3)

除了 + X，(都 / 也 / 还) + ...

除了 (chúle) has two opposite meanings that the rest of the sentence decides. With 都 it means "except for X, everyone/everything ...", excluding X. With 也 or 还 it means "besides X, also ...", including X. The 除了 phrase always comes first.

Examples

除了小雨，大家都来了。 Chúle Xiǎoyǔ, dàjiā dōu lái le.	Except for Xiaoyu, everyone came.
除了苹果，我还喜欢香蕉。 Chúle píngguǒ, wǒ hái xǐhuan xiāngjiāo.	Besides apples, I also like bananas.
除了他，我们都不认识她。 Chúle tā, wǒmen dōu bù rènshi tā.	Apart from him, none of us knows her.

Tip: Look at the second half: 都 means "except", 也 / 还 means "in addition to".