Master ‘Besides’ for IELTS: Boost Your Vocabulary Score
Learn how to use ‘besides’ correctly as both a preposition and adverb to enhance your IELTS performance. This lesson covers its meaning, usage, common errors, and practical examples to help you incorporate this versatile word into your writing and speaking tasks.
Besides is a versatile word that can significantly improve your IELTS score when used correctly. This lesson will help you master its usage and boost your vocabulary for the test.
Word type: Besides functions as both a preposition and an adverb in English.
Meaning: As a preposition, besides means in addition to or apart from.
When used as an adverb, it means moreover or furthermore.
Word history: The word besides comes from the Old English phrase be sidan, which literally meant by the side.
Over time, its meaning evolved to indicate something additional or extra.
Antonyms: While besides doesn’t have direct antonyms, some words with contrasting meanings include except, excluding, and only.
Synonyms: Some words with similar meanings to besides include additionally, moreover, furthermore, and in addition to.
Examples use in sentences: Let’s look at how to use besides in context. As a preposition, you might say, Besides English, I can speak French and German.
As an adverb, you could write, The restaurant was expensive; besides, the service was poor. Common errors in use: One common mistake is confusing besides with beside.
Remember, beside means next to, while besides means in addition to. For example, He sat beside me is correct when talking about physical location, but He speaks besides English is incorrect.
The correct form would be He speaks besides English. To effectively use besides in your IELTS writing and speaking tasks, practice incorporating it into your sentences to express additional information or ideas.
This will demonstrate your ability to use more advanced vocabulary and connect thoughts, potentially boosting your band score.
Remember, besides is a useful tool for introducing extra points or expanding on your arguments in both writing and speaking sections of the IELTS test.
