Let’s practice a few ways you can use these words correctly in both varieties of English. If you do a Google ngram search, you can chart the usage of "toward" vs. "towards" in American English between 1800 and 2008. It is a preposition, which shows connections between words in a sentence, and it means 'in the direction of.' Towards is the correct answer, Toward is an American illiteracy, like meter for metre, center for centre, et al. But it would be ill-advised to tell someone else their usage sounds silly. "Toward" vs. "Towards": The Numbers. If you do a Google ngram search, you can chart the usage of "toward" vs. "towards" in American English between 1800 and 2008. In your sentence, 'he walks towards the store', it would mean that he is going on walking towards the store,which of course, is not possible. The meaning of both words is the same within the same context, but the meaning depends on whether the word is used as an adjective or a preposition. So, toward vs towards, what’s the difference? The alternation is not obviously phonologically conditioned, either. Myself, I use both freely, but as a Brit I probably favour towards. Many sources say the "s" is more common in Britain than in the United States , so you should take into account what the convention is in your country, and use "towards" in Britain and "toward… 1835, Sir John Ross, Sir James Clark Ross, Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-west Passage …, Volume 1, pp.284-5 Towards the following morning, the thermometer fell to 5°; and at daylight, there was not an atom of water to be seen in any direction. In that case, the “s” is a signal … Towards indicates in the direction of something. Your destination is still unknown, but you know in which direction to walk. I am heading towards college at the moment. Find more ways to say toward, along with related words, antonyms and example phrases at Thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus. Both these words mean the same. I have always said, "I went toward the lake." There is no difference in meaning. Some people, probably influenced by “forwards,” write “torwards” instead of the correct “towards.” Walk towards the mall, turn right on 2nd Avenue, go to the McDonald's after the first intersection and get me a double double cheese cheese burger burger please. 'Towards' is a preposition used to indicate movement to a particular direction at that moment. Toward is more common in American English and towards is more common in British English, though each form may be found in both varieties. Amidst the confusion, toward and towards are actually the same in meaning and use. Another word for toward. As prepositions, the words toward and towards both have the following meanings:. Toward vs Towards – Meaning and Usage. towards. Doug let go of a balloon and watched its upward motion as it drifted towards the sky. Towards is the preferred British spelling.. Toward is the preferred American spelling.. She is driving toward California from New York. jdm. If you find yourself writing to an American audience in an American newspaper or magazine, toward is the best spelling to use.The AP Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style both advise American English writers to use toward.. Canadian English speakers also generally use toward without the –s at a higher rate than towards. 'I think it’s coming towards us.' 'Toward’ is a preposition that scholars see as a variant of towards as both convey the same meanings. In grammar, "toward" and "towards" are prepositions. As you can see the use of "toward" far outnumbers that of "towards." So, I'm wondering if I have always been incorrect. As stated above, there is no difference between toward and towards in terms of meaning. Toward definition is - in the direction of. For me, a West Coast US English speaker, toward and towards are in free variation. How to use toward in a sentence. [have, make indirect reference] indirekt auf etw. to direct toward / towards: richten auf [Aufmerksamkeit, Blicke, Wünsche etc.] These two words are interchangeable, but “toward” is more common in the US and “towards” in the UK. Some people differentiate the two words in various ways, but these preferences are not borne out in the usage of most English speakers. Definitions, Differences and Examples, discusses the various notions about these two words. Usage notes . Although some have tried to discern a semantic distinction between the words toward and towards, the only difference in practice is dialectal. However, there is a tendency to use "toward" in the US and Canada, and a slight preference for "towards" in the UK and Australia. Both mean ‘in the direction of, en route for, on the road to, toward… Some people will say that "toward" is the one used in American English, and "towards" is the one used in British English, but both variants are fine to use. The Use of "Toward" in the US. Toward and towards have same meanings and you can use them interchangeably. in the direction of facing with regard to as a help to. toward / towards sb. jdm. Toward vs Towards. toward, towards prep preposition: Relates noun or pronoun to another element of sentence--for example, "a picture of John," "She walked from my house to yours." To and toward(s) cannot be used interchangeably as explained in the following extract: The preposition to is another common preposition of place. Share this Information Towards definition at Dictionary.com, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. The Common Errors in English Usage site mentions:. It is normally used with a verb showing movement and shows the result of the movement-- the place or person that the movement was toward or in the direction of. entgegenhinken: to squint toward / at sth. The post, Toward or Towards? Toward is listed as an ‘also’ entry under towards, which indicates that it’s generally the less common form. The British government ended all movement_____ the end of the war. There is a slight difference in usage. Toward or Towards: Quiz: On getting to the airport, I saw an American Newspaper talking about the movement of Trump_____ the growth of the economy. Toward is mostly preferred by American and Canadian English speakers whereas towards is mostly preferred by British and Australian English speakers. But, in this book the author wrote several sentences such as, "I went towards the lake." As you can see the use of "toward" far outnumbers that of "towards." He looked towards the direction of London. Look it up now! The action has ended by the time you're saying it. 'There are always more mosquitoes in the air toward evening. The main exception is afterward(s), which is always an adverb. Toward or towards means 'in the direction of': 'Can you see that light over there?' I am toward nine years older since I left you. You should use towards when your audience is predominantly British. Here’s the rule for for the difference in usage: You should use toward when speaking or writing to an audience of North Americans. If towards sounds "silly" to you, just use toward in your own speech and writing. Many experts have tried to find semantic differences between these prepositions but differences between toward and towards, if any, seem to be dialectical. In the 1800s, "towards" was more popular than "toward" in North America. "Toward" and "towards" are both correct and interchangeable: you can use either one because they mean the same thing. verweisen: to stick sth. Answers: toward; towards; Awesome one, I hope this article on “Toward or Towards” answered your question. "Toward/Towards" is a direction. It's just regional variation (primarily a US/UK split), but there's a certain amount of "personal taste". The author is a professor of liturature at John Hopkins. 'Toward' and 'towards' are both variants of the same word. The Difference Between Toward and Towards. "Toward" and "towards" are two variants of the same word meaning "in the direction of," "near," "with regard to" or to indicate the direction something is facing, so you can use either one. Towards is the preposition that is generally used whereas Toward has a literary flavor. Synonyms to flow toward / towards: zuströmen auf [Fluss] to limp toward / towards sb. They can be used interchangeably. The s probably isn't a morpheme at all, in fact, because it doesn't carry any meaning. Toward (without the –s) is the preferred choice in American English. This is the only difference between toward and towards. British English makes more frequent use of toward than American English where it is towards that dominates. This is true for most -ward words: downward, upward, forward, backward, toward, etc. They are both prepositions that mean “in the direction of.” Below are examples of toward used in this manner. Alternative form of toward Synonym: toward Antonyms: fromward, fromwards. Walk towards the mall. etw. ‘towards’ vs ‘toward’ The English language can really be confusing sometimes, or maybe we just tend to confuse ourselves by overthinking our grammar, and the appropriateness of our words.. Let us take, for instance, the words ‘toward’ and ‘towards’. Toward and towards are equally acceptable forms of the word primarily meaning in the direction of.. Other than the s at the end, there is no difference between them. Both are considered to be an adverb, adjective, or preposition. As well, most of the other senses given for toward itself are marked obsolete. 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