# "Besides" at end of sentence



## cinderblock (Mar 16, 2016)

Question about the use of "besides" at end of sentence. Here are some examples from Grammar Bank.

Tom is really kind to me. He is a good colleague, besides.

I don't mind that you went to the concert yesterday. I don't like concerts, besides.

It indicates that "besides" is being interchanged with "anyway."

I guess my question is, can you use "beside" as opposed to "besides" even in this context? I know that in normal instances, beside and besides are interchangeable. But I ask because "besides" in this case, seems to be used as a slang term (anyway) as opposed to the formal meaning (next to).


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## PrinzeCharming (Mar 16, 2016)

*Beside *is in addition *to*; apart from ... 

*Besides *is in addition; as well. 


It could also refer to location of something next to something else.







*What You Ask: 
*

You want to use besides as an *adverb* to* introduce *something extra to the context. It either comes before or after the new information. Tom being a good colleague would be the new information. The fact that someone doesn't like concerts is new information regardless if the person went to the concert. 

*Another example: 
*
I haven't tried Cran's cupcakes yet. Besides, I heard PiP baked them herself. 

The new information would be a possibility that Cran didn't bake the cupcakes. Besides is placed before the new information is introduced. 


Hope this helps!


- Anthony


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## Flint (Mar 16, 2016)

Yeah, I would have to agree with all of that, personally.


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## Terry D (Mar 16, 2016)

I don't think I'd use 'besides' at all, other than in dialogue, and probably then only rarely. It sounds like a place filler similar to 'you know?', 'like', or 'um'. There has to be a better way to say whatever it is you would want to use 'besides' for.


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## PrinzeCharming (Mar 16, 2016)

Terry D said:


> I don't think I'd use 'besides' at all, other than in dialogue, and probably then only rarely. It sounds like a place filler similar to 'you know?', 'like', or 'um'. There has to be a better way to say whatever it is you would want to use 'besides' for.



I agree with Terry. I would avoid using besides by using an alternative approach. Besides, word choice is key!


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## Phil Istine (Mar 16, 2016)

I was beside myself reading this.

Seriously now, I think I would only possibly use the word that way in dialogue.  Away from dialogue, I would write around it.  I realise that the narrator may want to use it as a style, but if I were reading such narration, it would grate on me.


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## PrinzeCharming (Mar 16, 2016)

Phil Istine said:


> I was beside myself reading this.
> 
> Seriously now, I think I would only possibly use the word that way in dialogue.  Away from dialogue, I would write around it.  I realise that the narrator may want to use it as a style, but if I were reading such narration, it would grate on me.



And as Phil brought up, there's that version as well. 

_"beside oneself" 

_- overcome with worry or anger; distraught.


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## bazz cargo (Mar 16, 2016)

Heard on the TV today. 'Are you joking me?'

In dialogue, if you wish to convey something about a character, a little quirk can go a long way.


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## cinderblock (Mar 16, 2016)

PrinzeCharming said:


> *Beside *is in addition *to*; apart from ...
> 
> *Besides *is in addition; as well.
> 
> ...



Wow, that is huge.

As I mentioned, I made a similar post in the past, and multiple posters didn't distinguish the two. Basically it was like toward/towards - the advice was to pick one and stick to it. 

Had no idea they were actually different in meaning haha!

I notice I've used "beside/besides" a couple times in one of the stories I'm editing. Again, this is from a while back. I'm trying to keep it in the "spirit of the times" and just tweaking grammatical errors and leaving the style in tact. 

This is a big thing to know. Thanks again.


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## Sleepwriter (Mar 18, 2016)

toward/towards  is a matter of choice where beside/besides is a matter of meaning.


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## David Gordon Burke (Mar 20, 2016)

Many writers think that dialogue should sound the way real people speak.  
Only if the people in your life are really eloquent speakers.  Most of what we say day to day if fluff.  Crutch phrases that fill in while we try to figure out what we really mean to say.  
Edit out all the hums and haws etc.  
I go with the earlier opinions.  Get rid of it.

David Gordon Burke


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