Toward or towards

[Josiah]

Which is correct toward or towards?

 

[SeaBreeze]

I always get mixed up on that one Josiah.

 

[Josiah]

At this point I don't know the answer. I thought I'd see what people had to say before looking it up. To my ear both sound equally acceptable in most contexts.

 

[NancyNGA]

I always thought it was toward.

 

[hollydolly]

I use towards most often...interesting to read that ''Toward' is most often used by Americans and Canadians while 'Towards' are used mostly by English and Australians

http://www.write.com/writing-guides...us/the-difference-between-toward-and-towards/

 

[Ameriscot]

I think toward is proper.

 

[merlin]

I use towards most often...interesting to read that ''Toward' is most often used by Americans and Canadians while 'Towards' are used mostly by English and Australians

http://www.write.com/writing-guides...us/the-difference-between-toward-and-towards/

Yes I do as well Holly, hadn't really thought about it till Josiah mentioned it, toward sounds ok as well in some cases but not all

 

[vickyNightowl]

Towards. My guess.

 

[Butterfly]

I've always been told that toward is the correct one and that towards is a colloquialism (at least in the US).

 

[SifuPhil]

Toward is usually American or Canadian, while towards is usually British or Australian.

Some grammar gurus claim there is no difference between them and that they can be used interchangeably. Others get all prim and proper and say that it depends whether it is used as an adjective or preposition.

 

[Pappy]

Like Phil said:

 

[AprilT]

Mostly it doesn't matter, but here are some examples where it may make a difference in usage:

From this site link:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/towards-or-toward


[h=1]Towards or toward?[/h][h=3]from English Grammar Today[/h]
Towards and toward are prepositions. We can use both forms, but towardsis much more common than toward.
Toward(s) most often means ‘in the direction of something’:

The oil pollution is now moving towards the shore, and could threaten beaches and wild life.
​

He stood up and moved toward the door.
​

We use toward(s) to mean ‘in relation to someone or something’. We don’t use against or about when we talk about people’s attitudes, feelings and behaviour in relation to one another:

She’s always been very friendly towards me.
​

He felt very angry towards her when she refused him.
​

Not: … angry against her … or … angry about her …
​

[h=3]Toward(s): position[/h]
We use toward(s) to mean ‘near to or just before a time or place’:

Toward the late afternoon I always get sleepy and can’t work so well.
​

We sat towards the back of the room but we could still hear the speakers very clearly.
​

[h=3]Toward(s): purpose[/h]
Toward(s) can mean ‘for the purpose of buying or achieving something’:

Would you like to make a contribution towards our new children’s playground? (Would you like to give some money to help pay for it?)
​

The essays you do during term count towards your final grade.
​

(“Towards or toward ?” from English Grammar Today © Cambridge University Press.)

 

[Warrigal]

Towards flows off the tongue. To me toward sounds abrupt and stilted.