Backward vs. Backwards

Apr 3

Grr. Grammar. One thing I’ll say about being a tad older is that I spent junior high school English class (yes, junior high school, not middle school) partially buried in Warriner’s Grammar, diagramming sentences and learning the parts of speech. Nowadays, though, grammar is more problematic than ever. If you write in English today and decide to share your work with the world, be prepared for your grammar to be challenged even when your usage is correct. Because here’s the rub—there are two kinds of English grammar out there, and they often contradict each other. So be careful before you point out a grammatical error you think you’ve spotted!

For example, I recently saw a post regarding the usage of “backward” versus “backwards.” The author said something along the lines of “there is no plural of backward” and made “backward” an absolute—the only form of the word you should use.

But that’s not exactly true.. When used as an adjective, both “backward” and “backwards” are acceptable . From what I can tell, “backward” is favored in American English and “backwards” is favored in British English. Favored, not absolutely used.

But the problem doesn’t stop there. When used as an adjective, the preferred usage is “backward” in both languages. For this reason, many people now suggest only using “backward,” which is meant to simplify things, I suppose.

My recommendation? When it comes to words like this, pick one version for your piece and use it CONSISTENTLY.

For more on “backward” versus “backwards”:

https://www.grammarwiz.com/backward-vs-backwards-grammar.html

W. C. Markarian