Mekita Rivas, SNR communications associate, publishes a biweekly feature called "Grammar Guru."
Every other week, the Grammar Guru will share writing tips to help make your work as polished as possible. Some of these tips may address common spelling errors, while others will examine the many nuances of the English language.
Grammar Guru Tip #25
People sometimes confuse the correct usage of "beside" and "besides."
"Beside" is a preposition that means "close to" or "next to."
"Besides" is also a preposition that means "in addition to" or "apart from." It's can also serve as an adverb that means "furthermore" or "another thing."
Example:
Come and sit beside me. Your shirt is beside the closet.
Besides Anna, who else went to the concert? Besides, there's more than meets the eye.
Need some grammar guidance? The UNL Style Guide (http://unlcms.unl.edu/ucomm/styleguide/) is a great resource for all university employees. If you have writing questions that the style guide doesn't answer, feel free to email the Grammar Guru at mrivas@unl.edu.