Ways To Use toward vs towards
Toward and towards are both primarily prepositions that mean in the direction of. However, which spelling a person uses depends on if they use American English or British English. Toward is the preferred American spelling. Ex: She is driving toward California from New York. Towards is the preferred British spelling. Ex: He looked towards the direction of London. Toward usually acts as a preposition, but on rare occasions it can appear as an adjective. As a preposition it means in the direction of, for a certain purpose, near, facing, or in regards to. Ex: He pulled his pig toward the shed. towards was more common in American English. However, around the year 1900 toward surpassed towards in American usage. This fits in with the trend for American English to eliminate letters in order to make a word shorter or to reduce the amount of unnecessary letters.
Towards has all the same definitions as toward. However, this is the preferred spelling in British English. Ex: The robber moved towards her victim. Although towards has been more common than toward in British English for a long time, etymologists have found that both spellings of this word are very old. However, toward did appear before towards. Although both of these words are correct, it is still a good idea to use the preferred spelling for your country or your audience.
To remember which word is more common for American versus British English, it can help to remember that American English often has simplified versions of the British spelling, meaning the word has fewer letters. This is the case for toward and towards, since the Americans prefer the word with one less letter. These words are both correct and have the same meaning. However, you should still choose the spelling that is more common in the country you are writing in, or the audience you are writing for. Toward usually acts as a preposition which can mean in the direction of, to accomplish a certain goal, close to, facing, or with respect to.
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