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beside and besides

Beside and Besides

Writers sometimes confuse the words beside and besides. Beside and besides sound similar, but their meanings are quite different.

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. It means apart from.)
• Besides, it's not just about determination.
(Besides is an adverb in this example. It means furthermore.)

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