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RSSRunning “Toward” the House, or “Towards” the House?
As prepositions, the words toward and towards both have the following meanings:
in the direction of
facing
with regard to
as a help to
NOTE: toward/towards have numerous other meanings and can be used as adjectives as well as prepositions. This post is concerned with their use as prepositions.
Question
The question is, if they both mean the same thing, when should one use toward and when towards?
Here are some examples drawn from the web:
Nader takes steps towards another White House bid (headline, CNN)
Obama moves toward White House bid (headline,Chicago Sun-Times)
Contributing towards medical care coverage
(headline, US Bureau of Labor Statistics)Japan to continue contributing toward Mideast peace (headline, BNET Business Network)
Answer
Either toward or towards is acceptable.
Towards is said to be the preferred British version, but this random sampling suggests that it is not uncommon American usage.
Pronunciation
Answers.com gives three possible pronunciations for toward:[tôrd, tōrd, tə-wôrd']
The OED offers four pronunciations, and Merriam-Webster no fewer than six.
Here’s what H.W. Fowler had to say about pronouncing toward or towards with two syllables:
The prepositions are best pronounced [tord(z)], but in recent use the influence of spelling is forcing [toowor'd(z)] on the half educated. —Modern English Usage .
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Thanks for the explanation! I tend to use “towards” when writing anything. I hadn’t really thought about the pronunciation until now, though. That was an interesting tidbit.
You had me stressing over the difference at first. But as it turns out, there is no substantial difference. I can go on about my day feeling better now.
Thanx; i’ve always wondered (and never got round to looking up) when to use which.
I have never heard either pronounced with fewer than two syllables, though. Must be a Brit thing.
Well – i have, but assumed it was lazy pronunciation (cf Bush: ‘proud to be a merkin‘). ;0)
This couldn’t have been more timely for me. I am re-reading Les Misérables (unabridged) and recording it. I have always used ‘toward’ with singular and towards with plural meaning. Victor Hugo – translation considered – uses towards everywhere the word appears. I find this hard to say in the singular form.
Mand,
I clicked on your link. My goodness! That’s a new one for me.
My personal preference is sans the S, but here in Texas, most people use towards. As for pronunciation, I’ve rarely heard it pronounced as “tord,” but more of “tward.” Would that make it 1 1/2 syllables?
Any word on the writing contest submissions? I come here every Monday to get my fix.
Someone first asked me the “toward” or “towards” question about ten years ago. I’d never given it much thought, but I did look it up. And yes, “towards” is the preferred British, and “toward” without the “s” is American English. Supposedly.
Sometimes, “towards” just sounds better to me (and I’m American).
Unless I’m writing or editing strictly according to CMOS, this is one of those “rules” where I allow my gut instinct to rule.
I never gave this much thought, either. Thank you.
Thanks for this post!
In speech: I have heard both the one-syllable pronunciation and the two-syllable pronunciation. The latter always sounded “funny” to me.
In writing: We use “toward” consistently in our own writing. For British clients, we use “towards.” However, for our U.S. clients, we simply use the one they seem to prefer. For us, this is an issue of consistency and not correctness.
thank you very much for the tiny but invaluable information.