Toward or Towards?

mbroadway · Dec 16, 2009

Which is it? I alway use the one without the "s" but I see most other writers use the other one. Naturally, I always think I'm right, but now I'm not certain. And I did check the Grammar Forum before posting this. Found no reference.

Any input?

Shadow_Ferret · Dec 16, 2009

I did a Google search and about all I can determine is they are used interchangeably and towards is more British, while toward is more American.

Judg · Dec 16, 2009

Both forms exist and are correct. Some people consider towards to be incorrect, but that's just the snobbism that says "Only my form of English is correct."

Dictionary.com lists towards as a simple variant of toward.

Usage Note: Some critics have tried to discern a semantic distinction between toward and towards, but the difference is entirely dialectal. Toward is more common in American English; towards is the predominant form in British English.

Shadow_Ferret · Dec 16, 2009

This from Grammar Girl.

thothguard51 · Dec 16, 2009

I was always taught that towards was a poor mans grammar.

Now depending on how you use, toward/s is rather indirect in direction, as if the writer was not sure of what was going on at the time and never corrected..

He moved towards the door and opened it just a crack.

In this simple example he did not more towards the door...he moved TO the door. So the use of towards is rather weak in description in this case, counter productive.

But that is just my humble opinion.

All depends on how used and what follows...

Nick Anthony

mbroadway · Dec 16, 2009

Thanks for the replies. But it begs another question now.

If I'm writing a steampunk novel set in Victorian England, would towards be more correct?
Or should I just opt for toward and be happier with it? (In my own mind.)

Darklite · Dec 17, 2009

I'm not a Victorian, but I am English and I always use towards, if that's any help

. Toward,I think, is more American usage.

scarletpeaches · Dec 17, 2009

thothguard51 said:
He moved towards the door and opened it just a crack.

In this simple example he did not more towards the door...he moved TO the door. So the use of towards is rather weak in description in this case, counter productive.

And what do you think 'to' is short for?

Priene · Dec 17, 2009

mbroadway said:
And I did check the Grammar Forum before posting this. Found no reference.

We last went through this one a couple of months ago.

Alpha Echo · Dec 17, 2009

I'd think as long as you're consistant, it doesn't matter either way. If it does, the publisher or agent will say something. I wouldn't think it would be something that would prevent finding an agent (if you don't all ready have one)

rosiecotton · Dec 17, 2009

I'm a Brit--always used 'towards', no questions asked. Now I live and work in the States and use 'toward' as it appears to be standard here and appears in most of the American published novels I've read. Having said that, I just read an old Anne Rice that had a few big, juicy 'towards' in it. Go figure.

Chase · Dec 17, 2009

Since this thread's dead horse is pretty well pounded:

thothguard51 said:
I was always taught that towards was a poor mans grammar.

When teaching, every time I heard the above line, it was to recall a great truth from grade school or high school, a trump card from a revered teacher whom I could never hope to equal. It usually meant, "I shall continue to do it as I learned despite what you say!" Ha ha ha.

mbroadway said:
But it begs another question now.

I was always taught (see above) that to beg the question meant to evade the issue . . . to waffle . . . to argue by equivocation.

Now I see more and more writers using the phrase to mean "that brings up another subject."

Am I hopelessly outdated . . . again?

PeterL · Dec 17, 2009

Chase said:
Since this thread's dead horse is pretty well pounded:

When teaching, every time I heard the above line, it was to recall a great truth from grade school or high school, a trump card from a revered teacher whom I could never hope to equal. It usually meant, "I shall continue to do it as I learned despite what you say!" Ha ha ha.

I was always taught (see above) that to beg the question meant to evade the issue . . . to waffle . . . to argue by equivocation.

Now I see more and more writers using the phrase to mean "that brings up another subject."

Am I hopelessly outdated . . . again?

Begging the question in logic is to argue with the assumption that a position is true as a premise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question

PeterL · Dec 17, 2009

"Toward" is better, because it has fewer letters. There are several prepositions and adverbs that some people add an "s" to without any reason: Backward, toward, etc. If you like wasting letters, then whatever. I have always thought that those words sound silly with an "s".

Judg · Dec 17, 2009

thothguard51 said:
I was always taught that towards was a poor mans grammar.

Ah, there are always those who have a great deal of trouble accepting the fact that English is an international language and that there are several standards. Whoever taught you seems to be among them. Logically, if we were going to set one standard up as the foremost (which I think is foolish, but I'll spare you the rant), UK practice should be considered the standard, being the original stock, so to speak.

Somehow, the idea of someone dismissing the practice of Oxford academics as "poor man's grammar" is appalling. Add to that the fact that we're discussing semantics and not grammar, and it's even worse. A double shot of ignorance.

thothguard51 · Dec 17, 2009

Yes, it was a very well respected HS english teacher and I later learned she had many notions that do not fit well with writing fiction. Still bless her soul, she tried to educate me as best as she could... It wasn't her fault.

Just for the record...I do use towards, but only when I am trying to indicate a general direction and not a specific destination.

In my example, which scarlet peaces commented on, the point was he did not move towards the door which is a general direction, he moved to the door which was his destination. IMHO, To would be stronger in this case than towards. Just to clarify...

Judg · Dec 17, 2009

LOL! OK, I'll bless her soul along with you. Probably just insufficiently cosmopolitan. Teachers at the lower levels do tend to present a lot of things as dogma that shouldn't be. Come to think of it, that happens at higher levels too...

You are, however, skating on thin ice if you try to argue that there is a semantic difference between toward and towards. They mean the exact same thing. I can't find any reputable authority that says otherwise. You and I do not qualify as reputable authorities.

veinglory · Dec 17, 2009

As SF noted, generally toward is US dialect. Towards is UK/Australasian. I use towards, American editors change it toward--regardless of where the characters live.

scarletpeaches · Dec 17, 2009

PeterL said:
"Toward" is better, because it has fewer letters. There are several prepositions and adverbs that some people add an "s" to without any reason: Backward, toward, etc. If you like wasting letters, then whatever. I have always thought that those words sound silly with an "s".

LOLWHUT.

veinglory · Dec 17, 2009

NNS R UNCSRRY

scarletpeaches · Dec 17, 2009

Ur chagrinin ma dzl, vnglry.

thothguard51 · Dec 17, 2009

Judg said:
LOL! OK, I'll bless her soul along with you. Probably just insufficiently cosmopolitan. Teachers at the lower levels do tend to present a lot of things as dogma that shouldn't be. Come to think of it, that happens at higher levels too...

You are, however, skating on thin ice if you try to argue that there is a semantic difference between toward and towards. They mean the exact same thing. I can't find any reputable authority that says otherwise. You and I do not qualify as reputable authorities.

No I am not trying to say one is better than the other.

I guess what I am not making clear is that "toward/towards is an indirect indicator of movement and not always the best choice. While, in many cases, "to" would be a more direct indicator of movement. As always, it depends on context...

Thank you for the blessing by the way...

Chase · Dec 17, 2009

Judg said:
Logically, if we were going to set one standard up as the foremost (which I think is foolish, but I'll spare you the rant), UK practice should be considered the standard, being the original stock, so to speak.

I so wish Noah Webster, et al, had not taken the opportunity to defy British spelling, punctuation, and grammar while we colonists were caught up in defying taxes and such.

As it turned out, we became better friends with our mother country and really didn't need a slightly different language.

Judg · Dec 17, 2009

It gets better, Chase. Canadians have their own variations, sometimes following British practice, sometimes American. And not always consistently.

Australia and New Zealand have their own variants too, I think, but I don't know much about the details. Maybe some of them could chime in.

veinglory · Dec 17, 2009

New Zealand English is essentially British other than words in Maori. Canadian does my head in. I can never work out how many 'l's to use : /

Toward or Towards?

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