I only know "towards
" and always use it before today: "move towards
", etc. But today, I come across toward
, after referring the dictionary, I find I can't differentiate them clearly. What is the difference between "toward
" and "towards
"? How can use them?
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2Not much. Similar remarks on beside and besides.– John LawlerMay 11, 2015 at 3:33
2 Answers
OALD has: towards, also toward, especially AmE.
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1perhaps the OP (original poster) is unaware of what OALD stands for, not everyone is familiar with the acronyms used on this site. This also includes AmE. Jun 10, 2015 at 5:11
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OALD - Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/…. BrE British English, AmE American English.– rogermueJun 10, 2015 at 6:04
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If it has both toward and towards, that doesn't answer the question. Jun 10, 2015 at 8:37
Toward is a graphical variant of towards, meaning it is the same word which can be spelt in 2 different ways.
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1Graphical variant? I would take that to mean they are pronounced the same, but as far as I know that's never the case.– herissonMay 11, 2015 at 3:51
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3Because "graphical variant" to me implies that the variance is solely graphical. If it's both a graphical and oral variant, I would expect it to just be called a "variant".– herissonMay 11, 2015 at 4:04