Beside and Besides have very different meanings

October 9, 2022 / 10:07 PM IST

Among/Between

The words among and between are often confused. They have very similar meanings, but they are not usually interchangeable.
Between is used to show position between two or more well-defined objects.
Mary sat between Peter and Alice.
The boy sat between his dad and mom.
Among shows position among an indefinite number of objects. It is not exactly clear how many people or things are there in the group.
I found an envelope among the papers on the table.

Beside / besides
Beside and besides have very different meanings. Beside shows position. It means next to.
She sat beside her husband. (= She sat next to her husband.)
Besides means ‘in addition’.
Besides the violin, she can play the piano.
Besides eggs, we need some sugar.
I didn’t talk to anybody else besides Jane.

Note:
It is wrong to use also in the clause following besides.
Besides algebra, we learn physics and chemistry. (NOT Besides algebra, we also learn physics and chemistry.)

Around / about

Both around and about can be used to talk about position or movements that are not very clear or definite.
We wandered around / about the old town.
He hates doing odd jobs about / around the house.
Both around and about can mean approximately.
Around/about fifty people participated in the competition.
To show position or movement in a circle, we use around or round. About is not used with this meaning.
l We sat around the dining table.

From/of

From indicates the origin of someone or something. Of indi- cates possession.
Susie hails from Belgium.
She is the daughter of a famous social activist.

Difference between
‘amount of’ and ‘number of’ :

The phrases amount of and number of have slightly diffe-rent meanings.Amount of is used with uncountable singular nouns. Uncountable nouns are those nouns that refer to things you cannot measure or count. Examples are: hate, beauty, respect, information etc.
A computer can store a vast amount of information.
The noun information is both singular and uncountable – it refers to an idea that cannot be measured.
Almost all of us have to deal with a certain amount of stress.
The word stress refers to an idea that cannot be measured.
A certain amount of confide- nce is absolutely essential for su- ccess in life.The nouns amount and number are both used to talk about quantities. Amount is used be fore uncountable nouns. Number is used before plural nouns.

Compare:

That website receives only a small amount of traffic. (Traffic is an uncountable singular noun and hence we use amount of.)
That website receives only a small number of visitors. (Visitors is a plural noun and hence we use number of.)
The words amount and number can be modified by the express- ions small and large. Note that big and little are not normally used with amount and number.
A large number of people want to buy cars. (NOT A big number of people want to buy cars.)
You only need to contribute
a small amount. (NOT You only need to contribute a little amount.)
These words are often confused by ESL students. Although they are both forms of the primary auxiliary verb be, they are used in different grammatical struc- tures. The word been is the past participle form of be. It is used after have.
I have been to Australia.
The postman has already been.
The word being is the present participle form of the verb be. It is not used after have. As a rule, being is used after a form of be (is, am, are, was, were).
He is being sick. (= He is vomiting.) (NOT He has being sick.)
Who is being a silly baby, then?
I was being careful.

Being as a Noun

The word ‘being’ can also be a noun.
The word being can be used as a noun. As a noun being means a person or a living creature. Supernatural beings refer to spirits or gods.
Examples are: human beings, social beings, supernatural beings, living beings etc.
The structure be + being can be followed by an adjective or noun.
He was being careful.
She was being silly.
This structure is used to talk about actions and behaviors. It is not normally used to talk about feelings.
1. She has always ………….. a very naughty girl. (being / been)
2. You are ……stupid. (being / been)
3. His latest album has …………. grabbing a lot of headlines since its launch. (being / been)
4. Have they ……. informed?

(being / been)

5. An exhibition of her paintings is …held next week. (being / been)
The present perfect and past perfect tenses are particularly confusing.
In this article we will take a look at some of the most common mistakes in the use of tenses.
Incorrect: I have seen him yesterday.
Incorrect: I had seen him yesterday.
Correct: I saw him yesterday.
The present perfect tense is not used with adverbs of past time. Although past perfect tense can be used with adverbs of past time, it is not used to simply say that something happened some time ago. That meaning is expre- ssed with the simple past tense.
I sent the money yesterday. (NOT I had sent the money yesterday. / NOT I have sent the money yesterday.)
I finished that report last week. (NOT I had finished that report last week. / NOT I have finished that report last week.)
I visited my parents last week. (NOT I had visited my parents last week. / NOT I have visited my parents last week.)
The past perfect tense is only used to talk about the earlier of two past actions.
Using would
Would is used in second conditio- nal sentences to talk about unreal or imaginary situations.

Compare:

I would want to buy a car if I got my raise. (Here we are tal king about an unreal situation.)
I want to buy a car. (Here we are simply talking about a desire.)
I would want to try those sweets if they weren’t so expensive.
Sentences like ‘I would want to buy a car’ are not normally used without a condition.
The word very is commonly used before an adjective or adverb.
She is very beautiful.
Thank you very much.
We can strengthen the meaning of very by using indeed after the adjective or adverb modified by very.
She is very beautiful indeed.
Thank you very much indeed.
I was very pleased indeed to receive the invitation.
His performance was very bad indeed.
In this case, it is wrong to use indeed without very.
She was performing very well indeed. (BUT NOT She was per forming well indeed.)
It was a very good movie indeed. (NOT It was a good movie indeed.)
Indeed can also be used after an auxiliary verb to show emphatic agreement.
We are indeed impressed by your brilliant performance. (More emphatic than ‘We are im pressed by your brilliant performance.)
Indeed can also be used in short answers.
‘It’s hot.’ ‘It is indeed.’
It costs very much money
This sentence is not considered correct. In affirmative sentences, we do not usually use the modi- fier ‘very much’ with verbs like eat, pay or cost. Instead, we use an expression like ‘a lot’.
I ate a lot of chocolates. (NOT I ate very many chocolates.)
I paid a lot of money in tax last year. (NOT I paid very much money in tax last year.)
My new apartment cost me a lot of money. (NOT My new apart ment cost me very much money.)
Incorrect: My hairs are grey.
Correct: My hair is grey.
Hair is an uncountable noun in English and as such it does not have a plural form.
Incorrect: I availed of this opportunity.
Correct: I availed myself of this opportunity.
Incorrect: I enjoyed during the holidays.
Correct: I enjoyed myself during the holidays.
To talk about having a good time, we use enjoy yourself, enjoy myself etc.
Incorrect: He is guilty, isn’t it?
Correct: He is guilty, isn’t he?
Incorrect: The gold is a precious metal.
Correct: Gold is a precious metal.
Material nouns are used without articles.
Incorrect: It is raining for four hours.
Correct: It has been raining for four hours.
To talk about an event that started in the past and has been continuing up to the present, we use a present perfect continuous tense.
Incorrect: Work hard lest you may fail.
Correct: Work hard lest you should fail.
The only auxiliary verb that can be used after lest is should.