posted
Anyone help me here? I'm at a loss, what is the proper time to use toward vs towards? I realize this is basic but, you know what you know. And I don't know the answer to this.
If I were to make up a convention it'd be as follows: He moved towards the bar. They moved toward the bar.
My gut says "He moved toward the bar," is correct. So, I don't know.
posted
Unlike "farther vs. further" (farther generally used for distances only, with further used for more abstract concepts), I believe the correct answer is to use whichever one you want. Like forward vs. forwards, backwards vs. backward, towards/toward are interchangeable spellings for the same word. Generally speaking, I think it just depends on your on what region you live in, whether people usually say toward or towards.
So use them in whatever combinations you want, whichever one sounds best for any given instance.
posted
I edit both US and UK authors for a major publisher -- our rule is that the "s" (towards, afterwards, backwards, etc.) is for the UK authors only.
posted
You know, you're right trouser, and count the Australians in on the fun. They even put an extra "i" in aluminum! My sisters and I thought that everyone in Australia was just pronouncing the word wrong, until we got hold of an Aussie dictionary and found that it's spelled (or is it spelt? LOL) aluminium. Honestly, were vowels cheap that day? Posts: 1911 | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
Just thought I'd put in my two cents here. As a news copy editor at one time, our rule was to omit the "s" on such words in question; toward, backward, forward, etc. But in other literature, both are correct according to most English usage reference books.
Posts: 75 | Registered: Jan 2007
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'In 1807, Davy proposed the name alumium for the metal, undiscovered at that time, and later agreed to change it to aluminum. Shortly thereafter, the name aluminium was adopted by IUPAC to conform with the "ium" ending of most elements. Aluminium is the IUPAC spelling and therefore the international standard. Aluminium was also the accepted spelling in the U.S.A. until 1925, at which time the American Chemical Society decided to revert back to aluminum, and to this day Americans still refer to aluminium as "aluminum". '
I spent a whole afternoon once in America wondering how you guys made aeroplanes without ever having heard of aluminium!
Edited to add: My Oxford English Dictionary defines 'toward' as a mostly North American variant of 'towards.' I think this is one example of the many subtle differences between American and British English. (And if I'm not mistaken the Aussies use British English spelling albeit with some local vernacular.)
Here's an interesting page on 'Americanisms' from the Economist's style guide for British journalists writing for an international audience:
posted
That's really annoying. The author can't make up his mind whether the reader is supposed to follow American convention or not.
Posts: 453 | Registered: Feb 2006
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