beside or besides?

What Is the Difference between "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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