Looked to east

[musicgold]

Hi,

Are the following sentences interchangeable?

1. The explorer looked east and then west.

2. The explorer looked to east and then to west.

3. The explorer looked towards east and then west.

Thanks,

MG

[2006]

Hi,

Are the following sentences interchangeable?

1. The explorer looked east and then west.

2. The explorer looked to the east and then (to) the west.

3. The explorer looked towards the east and then (towards) the west.

Thanks,

MG

This is an interesting question. They are mostly interchangeable. But I like 1. the most, and 2. and 3. progressively less.


1. is the best for directions.
In 2. and 3., "east" and "west" sound like places as much as directions.


You can look towards the ocean or the mountains, but looking towards a direction sounds odd. After all, towards means 'in the direction of'.