The sentence

D. Particular prepositions, particles: contrasts (2)
Prepositions, particles, etc. often confused and misused
1. beside and besides
Beside + noun/pronoun means ‘next to’: Sit beside me. Besides with or without an object
means ‘in addition to’ or ‘as well as’: There were many people there besides (us).
2. between and among
We commonly use between to show a division between two people, things, or times:
Divide this between you both. We use among + plural noun to refer to a mass of people,
etc.: Were you among the people present? We sometimes use between to refer to more
than two, if these can be viewed separately: Don’t smoke between courses.
3. but (for) and except (for)
But (for)/except (for) mean ‘with the exception of’: Everyone has helped but
(for)/except (for) you. We can use except and but without for, but not to begin a
sentence:
Except for/But for you, everyone has helped. (Not *Except you/But you everyone … .*)
Except for/but for can mean ‘if not’: We’d’ve been on time except for/but for the snow.
4. by, near and on
By can mean ‘right next to’: Sit by me. We often use the words right or close in front of
by: The hotel is right by/close by the station. Near (or not far from) usually suggests ‘a
short way from’:
We live near/not far from London. On means ‘right next to’ or ‘beside’ when we refer to
‘a line’:
Our house is right on the road. I can’t see what is on my left.
5. by and past
We use either word after verbs of motion (go, run, walk, etc.) to mean ‘beyond in space
or time’:
He went right by/past me without speaking. A few days went by/past.
6. by, with and without
We often use by in fixed phrases: by bus, by car, by post. We also use it to refer to
‘method’:
You can open it by moving the catch. By can refer to time and rate: I’m paid by the
hour. With/without refer to thing (especially tools or instruments) which we need to
use: You can’t open it with/without a bottle-opener.
7. down, up, under and over
Down is the opposite of up and shows direction towards a lower level, especially with
‘movement verbs’: Let’s climb up/down. We can also use up and down to show position: He
lives up/down the street. Under suggests ‘being covered’: Let’s sit under a tree. Over
can have the meaning ‘covering’: Keep this blanket over you.
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