Confusing words (part 2)

9. Beside vs Besides

“Beside” is a rather formal way to say “next to.”

Here’s how I used it in a story from Short Stories in English for Beginners.

Aldin sat down beside Maha. He looked at her closely. ‘You can stay here for now,’ he explained. ‘But you have to understand. Our two worlds are at war.’

“Besides” means “in addition to.”

• Example: My partner and I have a lot of things in common besides music.

10. Between vs. Among

“Between” is used to talk about two things that are clearly separated.

The following is an example from Short Stories in English for Beginners.

I get into the back of the lorry. I sit down between a couple of boxes of rice. The driver starts the lorry. We head for Barcelona.

We use “among” to talk about more than two things that aren’t clearly separated because they are part of a group.

Here’s an example from my book.

The old man and I get out the back door. The old man hides among the people on the street. I thank the driver. ‘You’re welcome,’ he says. ‘Have a good day!’

11. Come back vs Go back

We use “come back” when the movement is toward the speaker or the place where the speaker is. In other words, when you go from there to here.

We use “go back” when the movement is away from the speaker to another place or position.

For example, let’s say I’m in Italy and you’re in France. If you return to France after visiting me, you go back to France. But if I ask you to visit me again in Italy, I’d say, “Please come back to Italy soon.”

Here are a couple of stories from Short Stories in English for Beginners.

1. Walter smiled. He opened the garage door. ‘Where are you going?’ David asked. ‘I’m finished here,’ replied Walter. ‘Remember that number. And read this.’ He handed David a letter. Then he walked away. ‘Wait! Come back! Don’t you want the necklace?’ called David. But Walter was gone. He had disappeared through the doorway.

1. Eskol continued, ‘The village chief tells me some of those Vikings left. They tried to go back to their homeland.’ He paused. ‘I have met those men,’ he continued. ‘They told me about this land. They, too, are dead. They died from exhaustion after the trip.’

12. Classic vs Classical

When we say that something is “classic,” we mean it’s of very high quality and one of the best of its kind.

• Example: Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino is considered a classic crime movie from the ‘90s.

We also use “classic” to describe the most typical example of something.

• Example: What I’ve included in this blog post are classic examples of commonly confused words.

“Classic” can also be a noun to describe famous books, films or songs that are considered to be of very high quality.

• Example: George Orwell’s 1984 is a classic.

“Classical” describes a form of traditional Western music and other things that are traditional in style.

• Example: I love classical music. Mozart is my favourite classical composer.

13. Compliment vs. Complement

A compliment is something polite you say to someone in order to praise them. You may do this because you like their appearance, appreciate their qualities something they have done.

• Example: They gave me a kind compliment about my English!

A complement, however, is something that adds new qualities to something in a way that improves it. I used this word at the beginning of 101 Conversations in Simple English to describe my book.

Suitable for beginners and intermediate learners alike, “101 Conversations in Simple English” is the perfect complement to any English course and will give you the ultimate head start for using English confidently in the real world!

14. Desert vs Dessert

A “desert” is a dry area of land.

• Example: The Sahara is the largest desert in the world.

A dessert is a sweet course eaten at the end of a meal. A dessert may be dry too if the person who makes it isn’t that good.

• Example: I’ll have chocolate cake for dessert.

15. Despite vs Although

We use these to express a contrast between two things. The meaning is similar but there’s a grammatical difference.

We use “despite” with a noun, a pronoun (he, she, etc.), or gerund (a verb ending in “-ing” used as a noun).

Look how I used “despite” in this story from Short Stories in English for Beginners.

Craig puts down the phone. He starts to cry harder. Laura realizes something else. Craig loves her very much. She looks at him. She can see he is really suffering. Laura makes a decision right then. Despite their problems, she wants to sort out their relationship!

In that last sentence, you can’t replace “despite” with “although” because “although” must be followed by a subject and a verb.

The following 3 sentences I’ve taken from Short Stories in English for Beginners will show you what I mean.

• Although it was a Sunday, there were several people around.
• Although he was not a warrior, he was very good at hunting.
• Although people can’t see or hear her, some people can feel her.