Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: towards

Is the word "towards" commonly used in AmE?
Kiuhnm

Kiuhnm
One of my linguistics books* gives "toward" (AmEng) and
"towards" (BrEng) as a characteristic difference in usage.
In AusEng, we say "towards" -- most of our usages follow
the British, but that's changing with TV and internet etc.
After about 40 years of watching both British and American
TV, I can't say I've ever really noticed this contrast.
Maybe Joe from M. could help.
*Cambridge Encycopedia of the English Language 
by David Crystal. 
R.

 by David Crystal. 
The American Heritage Dictionary lists both of them, but my US spell 
checker didn't accept "towards".
Kiuhnm


«614
-ward(s)
Backward(s), forward(s), northward(s), outward(s) and similar words can be
used as adjectives or adverbs.
1 adjectives
When they are used as adjectives, they do not have -S,
This country is very backward in some ways.
You're not allowed to make a forward pass in rugby.
He was last seen driving in a northward direction.
2 adverbs
When these words are adverbs, they can generally be used with or without -s.
The forms with -S are generally a little more common in British English, and
the forms without -S in American English.
Why are you moving backward(s) and forward(s)?
If we keep going upward(s) we must get to the top.
Let's start driving homeward(s).
In some figurative expressions such as look forward to, bring forward,
put forward, the form without -S is always used.
I look forward to hearing from you.
She put forward a very interesting suggestion.
3 other words
Towards and afterwards are the usual forms in British English; in American
English, toward and afterward are also common.»
(Swan, Practical English Usage)
Note that Swan says that "towards" is the usual form in BE, not the only
form.
The "Oxford Guide to English Usage" uses "towards" consistently, and never
mentions "toward''. However, in a quote concerning the use of the adverbs
"hopefully, thankfully''', it quotes a UK source which uses "toward".
«Any decision to trust Egypt...and move forward
hopefully toward peace... in the Middle East (Guardian Weekly).»
("Oxford Guide to English Usage")
In the US, both forms are used, with neither being preponderant. The problem
arises when you use both forms in the same document. We should at least be
consistent.
Googling [("toward")("towards")+
nytimes.com
]:
toward    436,000
towards  309,000
Even in the UK, the BBC sees only the slightest difference between the two.
«Well, I can re-assure all of you that these prepositions can be used quite
interchangeably and that there is no difference in meaning. The only slight
difference in usage is that toward is perhaps more characteristic of
American English and towards more usual in British English.»
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv66.shtml
My spell checkers in Outlook Express and MS Word accept toward, towards,
afterward, and afterwards.
Joe from Massachusetts

 afterward, and afterwards.
Do they accept "labelled"?
Kiuhnm


No.
Joe from Massachusetts

 author or the editor's work, I don't know. Maybe Fowler had a similar
author's
Joe from Massachusetts

 No.
My spell checker doesn't even accept "indices". After all it's not a 
professional spell checker. It comes with TeXnicCenter.
Kiuhnm

 professional spell checker. It comes with TeXnicCenter.
errata: professional
corrige: commercial
Kiuhnm