toward vs towards

[Odessa Dawn]

Once they made it to the pipe, fighters ran toward the group. Gadhafi's guard threw a grenade at them.

"I ran towards my father, but he didn't answer when I asked him if he was okay," Dhao told Human Rights Watch.


Source:Rights group recounts Gadhafi's last bloody moments, calls for justice - CNN.com

If I am not mistaken, we could use either toward or towards. According to dictionary, 's' that being attached to toward doesn’t make a big difference.

[JMurray]

There is no difference in meaning and both forms are common.
I have the feeling that I say "towards" more often, and the extensive research that I've done in the last two minutes tells me that "towards" is slightly more common in BrE, with "toward" being favoured in the US.

not a teacher

[5jj]

The BNC has 1,153 citations for toward, and over 27,000 for towards.

[JMurray]

The BNC has 1,153 citations for toward, and over 27,000 for towards.

I should have put another couple of minutes into the research.

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello,

You may be interested in the advice of Mr. Bryan A. Garner, whose A Dictionary of Modern American Usage is used as a

guide by many Americans:

"In Am[erican]E[nglish], the preferred form is toward; towards is prevalent in Br[itish]E[nglish]."

He also reminds us to pronounce it as "tord" -- not as "twahrd." (According to Mr. Garner, "tord" is the preferred

pronunciation of the "upper classes," while "twahrd" may be more common among people who are lower on the "social

ladder.")


James

P.S. I am very low on the social ladder, so I used to pronounce it as "twahrd." After reading his book, I now pronounce it like

my social betters.

[charliedeut]

P.S. I am very low on the social ladder, so I used to pronounce it as "twahrd." After reading his book, I now pronounce it like
my social betters.

Did you start you crusade upwards properly, with "The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain?"