Close, Near, Next to, Beside, By, Nearby – What’s the Difference?

Close, Near, Next to, Beside, By, Nearby – What’s the Difference?

Hello English learners. Welcome to a new lesson. Today’s lesson is about prepositions and adverbs relating to something which is near. Is there a difference between them, and how can they be used correctly? Close, near, next to, beside, by and nearby. Read the blog post to find out.

Close

If something is close, it is near or not far away. It is usually followed by “to”.

• There is a gasoline station close to our house.
• After an hour of negotiations, they were close to clinching the deal.
• It is cold, you’d better sit close to the fire.
• The car in front was too close to us.
• Sara was close to a nervous breakdown when she saw her husband with another woman.

Near

Near is another preposition meaning not far from someone or something or not distant in time. We can state that near and close to are synonyms and can be used interchangeably.

• Simon was driving near the edge and the passengers didn’t feel safe.
• Monica had a small mole near her eye.
• They were hoping to have a baby in the near future.
• Don’t walk near the edge – it could be dangerous!
• Wesley was born in a village near Oxford.

Close, Near, Next to, Beside, by, Nearby – What’s the Difference?

Next to

We use next to to describe two things or people very near each other, with no one or nothing in between.

• There is a nice Italian restaurant next to the cinema.
• The family living next to us have a very noisy child.
• Let’s meet at the fountain next to the café.
• Sandra was sitting next to a famous actor on a plane.
• Our horse came next to last in the race.

Beside

Beside is a preposition meaning at the side of someone or something.

• The old man was reading beside the fireplace.
• Jill was standing beside the entrance to the park.
• The cats were lying on the rug beside the armchair.
• The seat beside him was vacant so he invited his girlfriend to sit there.
• It was his last wish to be buried beside his wife.

By

By means near or at the side.

Close, Near, Next to, Beside, by, Nearby – What’s the Difference?

• The boat was sailing by the riverbank.
• When he turned around, he saw a little girl sitting by him.
• The dog was lying by the sofa.
• If you’re passing by the supermarket, would you buy me some sugar?
• Anna’s car was parked by the pavement.

Click here to learn about 10 ways to use BY

Nearby

Nearby is an adverb meaning not far away.

• The parts of the exploded car were found in the bushes nearby.
• They stopped in the nearby village to have breakfast and buy a few things.
• The reporter thought of asking some people who lived nearby.
• A major earthquake struck this area, accompanied by a smaller one nearby.

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