Meaning & use
beyond
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Meanings
preposition
On the far side of something; farther away than a place or point.
Grammar: Used with places: The house is beyond the bridge.
Patterns
- beyond something
- beyond the river
The village is just beyond those hills.
We sailed beyond the horizon.
The shop is beyond the traffic lights.
preposition
Outside the range, limit, or ability of something.
Grammar: Often used with abstract limits: beyond my understanding.
Patterns
- beyond something
- beyond someone's control
The situation is beyond our control.
It's beyond me why she left.
The cost is beyond what we can afford.
preposition
Later than a time, or more than an amount.
Grammar: Used with times and amounts: beyond midnight, beyond $100.
Patterns
- beyond a time
- beyond an amount
The party went on beyond midnight.
The temperature rose beyond 40 degrees.
Don't stay out beyond 10 p.m.
adverb
At or to a farther point; further on.
Grammar: Used without an object: The road continues beyond.
Patterns
- beyond
The forest stretches beyond for miles.
We looked beyond and saw nothing.
The path leads beyond into the valley.
Common combinations
- beyond doubt
- Her talent is beyond doubt.
- beyond belief
- The story is beyond belief.
- beyond repair
- The car is beyond repair.
- beyond the sea
- They traveled beyond the sea.
Synonyms and how they differ
- past
- Similar for places and times, but past is more common for times: past midnight.
- over
- Can mean 'more than' with amounts, but not usually for places.
Opposites
Word family
- beyond noun
- The unknown or the afterlife, as in 'the great beyond'.
Commonly confused: beyond or beside?
beyond vs beside
Beside means next to; beyond means farther away or past.
Practice
Choose the correct preposition: The problem is ______ my ability to solve.
Choose one answer.
Beyond means outside the range of; the other prepositions do not fit this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “beyond”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.