Practice
Beside, besides, or except: which one fits?
Your bag is beside the chair. Besides your bag, the room has only one other item. Everyone except Maya has already left. The three words look similar, but each one gives the reader a different relationship.
Choose beside for location, besides for an additional point, and except when a person or thing is excluded from a group.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
beside, besides, and except /bɪˈsaɪd/, /bɪˈsaɪdz/, and /ɪkˈsept/
The short answer
Use beside when you mean next to. Use besides when you mean in addition to or also. Use except when you mean that someone or something is not included.
The pharmacy is beside the bank, and besides the pharmacy, the street has a bakery. Every store is open except the bakery.
Why it works: Beside gives a location. Besides adds another item. Except removes one item from the group.
5 more examples
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I sat beside my cousin during the movie.
Beside tells us where the speaker sat.
Not this:I sat
besides my cousinduring the movie. What changes: Besides does not normally describe a physical place. Use beside for next to. -
Besides rent, we pay for electricity and internet service.
Besides adds other costs to the point about rent.
Not this:
Beside rent, we pay for electricity and internet service. What changes: Beside suggests a location. Costs do not have that kind of physical position here. -
Everyone except Omar brought an ID card.
Omar is not included among the people who brought an ID card.
Not this:Everyone
besides Omarbrought an ID card. What changes: In this meaning, besides can also mean except for. It is less direct when you are simply naming an exclusion, so except is the clearer choice. -
The keys are beside the blue notebook.
The phrase gives the keys' position.
Not this:The keys are
except the blue notebook. What changes: Except cannot describe where the keys are. It only shows what is left out. -
I do not want to drive. Besides, the roads are icy.
Besides begins an additional reason and is followed by a comma.
Not this:I do not want to drive.
Except, the roadsare icy. What changes: Except does not introduce an extra reason in this way. Use besides to add the reason.
Read the full guide
Ask one question before you choose: Am I showing a place, adding information, or leaving something out? That question usually gives you the answer. Do not choose besides just because it has an extra s. The extra letter changes the meaning.
Use beside for a place
Beside means next to. It tells the reader where one person or thing is in relation to another one. It often appears before a noun or pronoun.
Please leave your shoes beside the door.
The shoes are next to the door. That is a physical location.
Which word describes a location next to another object?
Use beside when the meaning is next to or at the side of.
Use besides to add something
Besides adds an item, fact, or reason. Before a noun, it can mean in addition to. At the start of a sentence, it can mean also and introduce another reason.
Besides coffee, the cafe sells sandwiches.
Sandwiches are added to the list of things the cafe sells.
Are you adding information, or are you describing where something is?
Choose besides when you are adding information or another reason.
Use except to leave one thing out
Except identifies what is not included. It often follows words such as everyone, all, nothing, or every day. The rest of the group is included, but the word after except is not.
The museum is open every day except Monday.
Monday is outside the group of days when the museum is open.
Which word clearly excludes one day from the schedule?
Use except to show that Monday is not included.
Notice the extra s
The spelling difference is small, but the meaning changes. Beside has no final s and refers to position. Besides has a final s and usually adds something. Read the whole sentence instead of relying only on spelling.
The lamp is beside the bed. Besides the lamp, there is a small table.
The first sentence gives a location. The second adds another object in the room.
Does the sentence need next to or in addition to?
Choose beside for next to and besides for in addition to.
Choose the clearest exception
Besides can sometimes mean except for, but that use can make the sentence harder to read because besides also means in addition to. When your main meaning is exclusion, except is usually the plainest choice.
No one except the manager knows the new password.
Except makes the excluded person clear without suggesting an additional fact.
Which word is usually clearest when one person is not included?
Use except when you want to show an exclusion directly.
Before you go
Remember this
Use beside for next to, besides for an extra item or reason, and except for an exclusion. If the sentence is about a place, choose beside. If it adds to the idea, choose besides. If it removes one member from a group, choose except.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Beside, besides, or except: which one fits?"
Is beside the same as next to?
Yes. Beside usually means next to or at the side of. You can say that a chair is beside a window when the chair is next to the window. Beside is used for position, not for adding another idea.
I sat beside my cousin during the movie.
Why does besides have an s?
Beside and besides are different words with different meanings. Beside means next to. Besides usually means in addition to or also. The final s is part of the spelling of besides, so do not add it when you mean a physical position.
I sat besides my cousin during the movie.
Can besides mean except for?
Besides can sometimes mean except for, especially in sentences about choices or limits. However, except is usually clearer when your main point is that a person or thing is excluded from a group. Use the surrounding sentence to make the meaning clear.
Besides rent, we pay for electricity and internet service.
Do I put a comma after besides?
Put a comma after besides when it begins a sentence and adds another reason or comment: Besides, the store is already closed. You do not normally use a comma after besides when it comes directly before a noun: Besides work, I take an evening class.
Beside rent, we pay for electricity and internet service.
Can I use except for instead of except?
Often, yes. Except and except for can both introduce something that is not included. Except is especially common after words such as everyone, all, and nothing. Except for is also common when you want to point out a single exception in a statement.
Everyone except Omar brought an ID card.