beside and besides - the difference

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BESIDE / BESIDES

Beside means 'next to'. Besides means 'apart from' or 'and another thing'.

Writers sometimes confuse the words 'beside' and 'besides'.

Beside

The word beside is a preposition. It means 'close to' or 'next to'.

Examples:

Come and sit beside me.

Your hat is beside the dog basket.

Besides

The preposition 'besides' means 'in addition to' or 'apart from'. As an adverb, it means 'furthermore' or 'and another thing'.

Examples:

Besides Craig, who else caught a bass?

(Besides is a preposition in this example. Apart from Craig, who else...)

Besides, it's not just about determination.

(Besides is an adverb in this example. Furthermore, it's not just...)

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Associated lessons:

What are prepositions?
What are adverbs?
List of easily confused words

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