How to Use Beside and Besides Correctly
Like many word pairs in English, "beside" and "besides" are confusingly similar. Knowing which of these words is the more "literal" and which one is more idiomatic will keep you out of trouble.
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Instructions
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Use "beside" as the more literal directional terminology, as in "The chair is beside the wall."
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Use "beside" in selected idioms. "He was beside himself" is the best example. In this case, "beside himself" means the person was extremely upset.
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Use "besides" in ways not related to direction. The word "besides" is not a spatial label, it's more idiomatic. In "Besides being under the weather, she was also frustrated", besides adds one element of the sentence to another for the sake of comparison. In sentences like "Besides, it's dark out." "besides" indicates an additional reason for sustaining an argument. In both uses, "besides" indicates "more" or suggests an additional element.
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Use besides at the end of a sentence, as in "They were good people, besides." This, though not very graceful, is a common way to use the word to indicate and additional element to an opinion, a declaration or an argument.
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Replace "besides" when writing. Use connective words or phrases, such as "moreover" and "in addition," in formal writing.
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Comments
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Is it wrong to use 'Besides that,..."? Here's an example: "Development leads to deforestation. Forests are cleared to make way for buildings and parking space. animals habitats are destroyed and they have to find new ones. Besides that, because of development, people who live I rural areas migrate to the cities to find jobs." Can I use 'besides that' as an alternative to "In addition,'?
