Beside vs Besides

The prepositions beside [=next to] and besides [=in addition to] can be easily confused because of their similar spellings ( besides with an 's' at the end). Despite this similarity they have different meanings.  

Beside 

Beside is a preposition that means next to or very close to someone or something.

• She came and sat beside me. 
• Put it on the small table beside the bed. 
• We had our picture taken beside the statue. 

You can use beside for comparing two or more people or things.  

• I always felt ugly beside Jessica.  
• That book looks very interesting beside this one.  

Besides 

Besides has two uses. It can be used as a preposition that means in addition to someone or something, and is followed by a noun. 

• What sort of music do you listen to besides Jass?  
• He's very keen to play other sports besides football. 
• Besides being a bright student, he is a great footballer.  

Besides is also used as an adverb (without a following noun). 

• The website contains historical events, records, personalities and much more besides. 

Besides is also used as a linking adverb to introduce an additional explanation. 

• I don't want him to go with me. Besides, I like travelling alone. 

Idioms with the preposition beside (not besides) 

Beside the point 

If you say that something is beside the point, you mean that it is not relevant or important to the subject that you are talking about. 

Beside yourself 

If you are beside yourself with anger or excitement, you are unable to control yourself because you are very angry or excited.