Beside vs Besides in English: Ask “Where?” or “What Else?”

Here are two sentences. Which one tells you where to look for the keys?

1. The keys are beside my phone.
2. Besides my phone, I have my keys.

It is sentence 1. Sentence 2 says nothing about location at all: it tells you that I am carrying a phone and, in addition, my keys. The two sentences use almost the same words, and only one letter separates the two key words. Yet a listener who hears sentence 2 will not start searching the table.

That is the whole problem with beside and besides. They look like one word with a spelling option, so learners pick by feel. But they do different jobs, and a text like “Meet me besides the front desk” can make a friend ask, “Besides the front desk… what else?” This guide is for learners at about A2 who want to choose the right word by asking one question, not by guessing.

Beside: the word that answers “Where?”

Beside means next to. Use it when you are telling someone where a person or a thing is.

• Meet me beside the front desk.
• My bag is beside the chair.
• Can I sit beside you?
• The bus stop is beside the bank.

It works with people (beside you) and with things (beside the door, beside my desk, beside the window). There is no hidden idea of “also” in it. If you could replace the word with next to and the sentence still says what you mean, you want beside.

One more habit from real messages: beside is happiest when the thing you name really marks a place. “I’ll be sitting beside a blue backpack” is correct, but a friend looking for you would probably find it easier to read “There’s a blue backpack beside me.” Same word, a more natural picture.

Besides: the word that answers “What else?” and “Who else?”

Besides means in addition to. Use it when you are adding another person, another thing or another item to what you have already named.

• Besides coffee, we need water. (coffee is one item, water is the extra one)
• Besides my bag, I have a laptop.
• Who else is coming besides Daniel?
• Do we need anything besides water?
• Besides English, I’m studying Japanese.

The pattern is the same each time: you name something that is already part of the picture, and then you add. If in addition to fits in the same spot, you want besides. It is common in everyday English, not only in formal writing, and the thing you add can be a person, an object, a language, a job or an activity.

Besides at the start of a sentence: one more reason

Besides has a second, very useful job. At the start of a sentence, with a comma after it, it adds one more reason after you have already made your main point.

• Let’s take the bus. It’s cheaper. Besides, it’s raining.
• I don’t want to drive. Besides, parking is difficult there.

Here Besides, means roughly “also, here is another reason.” Notice that the second reason really is extra. If you have only one reason, you do not need the word. Learners sometimes squeeze it into every sentence because it sounds advanced, and the result is a pile of reasons that nobody asked for. Also is often possible too, so keep besides for the moment when you actually have one more point to add.

One noun, two jobs

The most reliable proof that the topic does not decide the word is to keep the nouns and change only the relationship.

Say this	The listener pictures	Because
The café is beside the library.	Two buildings next to each other	place
Besides the library, there is a café nearby.	A library and one more place to go	extra
Who is sitting beside Daniel?	The person in the next chair	place
Who else is coming besides Daniel?	More people than Daniel	extra
The notice board is beside the main door.	A board next to the door	place
Besides the main door, there is a notice board.	A door and one more thing to look at	extra

Look at the last two rows. The second sentence is perfectly good English, so it is not a spelling error that anyone could mark wrong. It is a different message. A useful question when you check your own sentence is not “Is this wrong?” but “What relationship did I actually say?”

When you freeze: say it the easy way first

In a fast conversation you will not draw a grammar chart. Two small tools are enough.

1. Ask your question. Place or extra? Where, or what else?
2. Try the easier words. Say next to or also in your head. If next to fits, choose beside. If in addition to or also fits, choose besides.

If you still say the wrong word, repair it and keep going: No, I mean beside the door. Or: Sorry, I mean besides Anna. Repairing out loud is a normal skill, and it sounds much better than stopping the conversation.

One neighbouring word is worth keeping apart. Besides adds: in Besides Tom, Anna came, Tom came and Anna came too. When you want to leave someone out, use except: Everyone came except Tom means Tom did not come. In some sentences, especially after words like nobody or anything, besides can also be read as “other than”, which is why, for clear everyday messages, it is safer to say except when someone is left out. (Editorial note, not from the podcast: this last point is general usage advice.)

A team lunch in the chat

Written for this page, not from the podcast. Read it twice. The first time, underline each beside or besides. The second time, say “place” or “extra” for each one.

Dana: Lunch is in the small meeting room at one. The soup is beside the coffee machine, so you can’t miss it.

Omar: Who else is coming besides the design team?

Dana: Besides the design team, two people from finance. We should eat there. It’s quiet, and besides, the big room is full.

Omar: Great. Can I sit beside you? I want to ask about the budget.

Dana: Of course. There’s a free chair beside the window. Do you need anything besides a fork?

Omar: Just my laptop. I’ll put it on the table beside my plate, and that’s all.

Test yourself on the final s

The drills are written for this page, not from the podcast.

Choose the word, then name the job

Write beside or besides, then say if the job is place, extra or another reason.

1. Please put the folder ___ my laptop.
2. ___ the folder, I need the signed form.
3. Who is standing ___ the teacher?
4. Who else is going ___ Kim?
5. I’m tired. ___, it’s late.
6. Is there a bus stop ___ the bank?
7. Do you speak any other language ___ English?

Answers

1. beside (place). 2. Besides (extra). 3. beside (place: the person next to the teacher). 4. besides (extra people). 5. Besides (another reason). 6. beside (place). 7. besides (extra language).

Add the s or take it away

Each sentence has the wrong word. Rewrite it so it says what the speaker most likely means.

1. Meet me besides the front desk.
2. Beside your notebook, bring a pen.
3. Can I sit besides you?
4. I don’t need anything beside water.
5. Put one chair besides Nora.
6. Beside my job, I study English in the evening.

Answers

1. Meet me beside the front desk. 2. Besides your notebook, bring a pen. 3. Can I sit beside you? 4. I don’t need anything besides water. 5. Put one chair beside Nora. 6. Besides my job, I study English in the evening. (More natural: Besides working, I study English in the evening.)

Same words, two messages

Write two sentences from each pair of words. The first sentence must say where and the second must add.

1. laptop / charger
2. library / café
3. window / chair

Answers

Yours may differ. Check that the first uses beside and the second uses besides.

1. The charger is beside my laptop. Besides my laptop, I brought a charger.
2. The café is beside the library. Besides the library, there is a café nearby.
3. My chair is beside the window. Besides the window, the room has one small door.

Look around the room

Without looking at the examples, say one true sentence with beside about something near you. Then say one true sentence with besides that adds another thing you have. Aim for 20 to 30 seconds, and repair any sentence that comes out on the wrong side of the s.

Answers

One possible answer: My phone is beside my laptop. Besides my laptop, I have a notebook on the desk. The test is whether the first sentence tells where and the second adds something.

What if both sentences look possible?

Is the topic a clue?

No. A room, a person, a café, a meeting or a bag can use either word. There’s a small lamp beside the sofa tells you where the lamp is. Besides the sofa, the room has two chairs and a desk adds items to the description. Both can be true of the same room.

Do I have to use besides every time I add something?

No. Also is often just as good, and many sentences need neither. Use besides when it does a clear job.

How do I hear the difference?

The two words sound close, which is why meaning has to lead. Try saying the sentence in chunks, such as Besides Maya / two other people / are coming, so the first chunk tells the listener who is already in the group. For a place sentence, keep the contrast clear without exaggerating the ending: I’m sitting beside Maya.

The two words side by side

The question in your head	The word	Replace it with	Example
Where is it?	beside	next to	Can I sit beside you?
What else? Who else?	besides	in addition to	Who else is coming besides Maya?
Do I have another reason?	Besides, …	also, here is another reason	It’s far. Besides, it closes early.

Before you send your next message, check each beside or besides with one short question: place, or extra?

Hear it in a real conversation

Want to hear Paul and Emily fix a mistaken text, plan a library meetup and set up a presentation room, with a quiz and a speaking challenge? Listen to the episode and read the transcript in Beside or Besides? Use the Right Word for Place and Extra Information.