Beside / Besides

Certain sets of words in the English language tend to confuse people. I have found the following to be among them:

BESIDE / BESIDES

As prepositions, beside usually means next to or by the side of whereas besides means except or other thanBeside can also mean irrelevant.

INCORRECT: Come sit besides me.

CORRECT: Come sit beside me.

INCORRECT: That’s besides the point.

CORRECT: That’s beside the point.

INCORRECT: No one beside me was in the house. I was all alone.

CORRECT: No one besides me was in the house. I was all alone.

Remember that beside can mean by the side of something or someone, and side is singular with no S on the end.

© 2020 Ann Henry, all rights reserved.

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