You and your friends are trying to get into a nightclub, but the club has a dress code that doesn't allow people wearing shorts to enter. Your friend is wearing shorts, so the bouncer won't let him in. You beg the bouncer:
Can't you make an exception just this once?
can't you (do something)
You can ask "Can't you ___?" instead of "Can you ___?" when you're not just asking a question, but trying to convince someone to do something. In the example above, you're trying to convince the bouncer to let your friend in. In the following example, you're trying to convince your son, who's playing a noisy game, to play in another room so that it doesn't distract you:
Can't you do that in the other room?
The tone of the first example, "Can't you make an exception...?" is polite. The tone of the second is annoyed. But both of them are used to try to convince the listener.
(do something) just this once
When you're trying to convince someone to do something that they don't want to do, one way to persuade them is to say that it's "just this once". It means that they only have to do it one time. In the future, they won't have to do it again. People use this phrase a lot when asking for favorsfrom people. Like when you want to borrow money from a family member:
Can you loan me a couple hundred bucks? Please, just this once.
make an exception
If you make or enforce a rule, but you break it one time because of a special situation, you're "making an exception" for that person.
For example, if a teacher has a rule that homework has to be submitted by a certain date, he can "make an exception" for a certain student whose computer broke.
Use "for ___" to indicate theperson who is allowed to break the rule:
I don't usually give my number out to people I've just met, but for you I'll make an exception.
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