Most of us develop our sense of grammar and vocabulary listening to others, be it good grammar or spellings or not. Our language skills aren’t necessarily based upon intelligence, but a product of our environment. If we’re fortunate, persistent, and surround ourselves with bright people, we correct grammar and expand our vocabulary, presupposing an awareness. John Clayton, the Viscount Greystoke, a student of Mangani comes to mind. Okay, he’s fictional, but you understand.
I needed to up my game. For far too long, I’ve wondered about the difference between toward and towards, while and whilst, amid and amidst. Curiosity often strikes when I’m in the middle of writing and not wanting to interrupt myself at the risk of my ADD losing the narrative thread. By the time I finish, I’ve quite forgotten my mental note until the next time.
| amid/amidst | among/amongst | beside/besides | toward/towards | while/whilst |
But I finally looked them up, prepositions with optional ’S’s. That led to a myriad of adjectives and adverbs ending in ‘-ward(s)’: inward/inwards, upward/upwards, aft/aftwards, etc. Almost always, -ward(s) implies direction, e.g, looking inward, tossing skyward, sliding downward– any which may bear a discretionary S. Unsurprisingly, a number of terms come from marine navigation and others from biology. A partial list includes:
| afterward/s | backward/s | bucalward/s | coastward/s | distalward/s |
| dorsalward/s | downward/s | earthward/s | eastward/s | elseward/s |
| forward/s | frontward/s | heavenward/s | henceforward/s | homeward/s |
| inward/s | landward/s | leeward/s | lingualward/s | mesialward/s |
| moonward/s | netherward/s | northeastward/s | northward/s | northwestward/s |
| onward/s | outward/s | polarward/s | rearward/s | rightward/s |
| seaward/s | starward/s | sunward/s | shoreward/s | sideward/s |
| skyward/s | stemward/s | southeastward/s | southward/s | southwestward/s |
| sternward/s | straightforward/s | sunward/s | thenceforward/s | toward/s |
| upward/s | vanward/s | ventralward/s | westward/s | windward/s |
With or without an S, meaning is almost always the same. Variants may have stylistic implications, often in the ear of the beholder. ‘Amongst’ might seem old-fashioned, ‘whilst’ might sound classy, ‘toward’ more North American whereas ‘towards’ more British– or not. Context is important.
What are your thoughts?
In the mortal words recorded on Theodore Cleaver’s birth certificate, JuneWard!
