I saw her when she was standing _____ the side of the old statue.

Correct: A, by. 'By the side of' is the ordinary way English says 'beside', so the sentence reads 'I saw her when she was standing by the side of the old statue.'

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  at: 'At the side of' picks out one flank of something larger, as in 'at the side of the road', rather than saying that a person is standing next to a thing.
• (c)
  in: 'In the side of' places something inside the surface itself, as in 'a crack in the side of the wall', which cannot be true of a person standing there.
• (d)
  beyond: 'Beyond' means further away than, so it would put her past the statue rather than next to it.

'By the side of' is a fixed way of saying 'beside', and the preposition at its head cannot be swapped for another.

Key facts

• 'By' on its own can mean 'next to', as in 'she was standing by the statue'.
• 'At the side of' picks out a flank or edge of something larger.
• 'Beside' means next to, while 'besides' means in addition.

Common traps

• Treating 'at', 'by' and 'in' as interchangeable before 'the side of'.

• practice, not a real PYQ

  Choose the preposition that best fills the blank: The old temple stands ____ the bank of the river.

  • (a)in
  • (b)on
  • (c)at
  • (d)beyond
  Answer(b) on: English says 'on the bank of a river'.
• practice, not a real PYQ

  Choose the preposition that best fills the blank: He sat quietly ____ the side of his sleeping father.

  • (a)in
  • (b)by
  • (c)beyond
  • (d)into
  Answer(b) by: 'by the side of' means beside.