"Beside" vs "Besides": One Letter, Different Meaning
Beside means next to; besides means in addition to or moreover. Learn the difference with examples and common errors.
She sat beside me.
Besides, I don’t want to go.
One letter — the “s” at the end — separates two completely different meanings. “Beside” is about physical position. “Besides” is about addition or “anyway.”
This is one of the easiest confusions to clear up, because the two words belong to different grammatical categories and are almost never interchangeable.
“Beside” is a preposition of place. It means “at the side of” or “next to.”
She sat beside me during the lecture.
There is a park beside our house.
He stood beside the window.
The bank is beside the post office.
Please sit beside your brother.
“Beside” can describe physical position or metaphorical closeness:
She was beside herself with anger. (idiom — extremely angry)
He felt completely beside the point. (idiom — irrelevant)
In the idiom “beside oneself,” the meaning is figurative — so angry or emotional that you feel outside your normal self.
“Besides” has two main uses:
Besides English, she speaks French and Hindi.
Besides cricket, he enjoys football and tennis.
There was no one there besides me.
In this use, “besides” means “apart from” or “in addition to.”
I don’t want to go to the party. Besides, I have to study.
The movie was boring. Besides, it was too long.
She didn’t like the plan. Besides, it was too expensive.
Here, “besides” introduces an additional reason or point. It means “moreover,” “furthermore,” or “anyway.”
A simple way to remember:
- Beside (no “s”) = position (next to)
- Besides (with “s”) = addition (also, moreover, in addition to)
Think of the “s” as standing for “supplementary” or “also.”
Incorrect: Beside English, she speaks Hindi.
Correct: Besides English, she speaks Hindi.
You are adding languages. Use “besides” (with “s”).
Incorrect: Besides the river, there was a tree.
Correct: Beside the river, there was a tree.
You are describing physical location (next to the river). Use “beside” (no “s”).
“Beside from” is not a standard phrase in English. Use “besides” or “apart from”:
Besides English, she speaks French. (correct)
Apart from English, she speaks French. (correct)
Beside from English(incorrect)
- She sat ______ me during lunch.
- ______, I don’t think it’s a good idea.
- ______ Hindi, she also speaks Tamil.
- The temple is located ______ the river.
- I’m too tired to go out. ______, it’s raining.
- beside — physical position (next to)
- Besides — adverb meaning “moreover”
- Besides — preposition meaning “in addition to”
- beside — physical location (next to the river)
- Besides — adverb meaning “anyway”
| Word | Meaning | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Beside | Next to, at the side of | Preposition of place |
| Besides | In addition to, moreover, anyway | Preposition or adverb of addition |
One letter. Two completely different words. Remember: the “s” means “supplementary.”
In some contexts, yes. “No one besides John knew” means “No one except John knew.” This is a less common but valid use.
Mostly, yes. But it appears in idioms like “beside oneself” (extremely emotional) and “beside the point” (irrelevant), which are figurative.
Yes. “Besides, I don’t want to go” is perfectly natural. It functions as a conjunctive adverb, similar to “moreover” or “furthermore.”