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Home > Articles > English lessons > The difference between TO and TOWARDS

The difference between TO and TOWARDS

22nd December 2017 by Andrew 7 Comments

Look at these 2 sentences:

1) Jane is walking to the library.
2) Sarah is walking towards the library.

to and towards are prepositions to describe movement.

Both of these sentences are grammatically correct. But there is a slight difference in the meaning. In this lesson, you will learn the difference.


towards

Let’s look at a sentence:

Sarah is walking towards the library.

In this sentence, “towards the library” means “in the direction of the library”.

When we use “towards“, we are not describing the destination. Maybe the destination is the library. But we are not certain.

Maybe Sarah will stop before the library. Maybe Sarah will walk past the library.

We know only that Sarah is walking in the direction of the library.

We do not know the result of the movement.

towards or toward ?

Sometimes you will see the word “toward” instead of “towards”. So what is the difference between towards and toward ?

“towards” is British English.
“toward” is American English.

Examples:

Sarah is walking toward the library. (American English)
Sarah is walking towards the library. (British English)

The meaning of towards and toward is the same.

to

Look at this sentence:

Jane is walking to the library.

“to the library” means that the destination of the journey is the library.

Jane’s exact direction at any moment during the journey is not important. When we use “to“, we are describing the destination of the movement. Only Jane’s final destination is important.

We are describing the result of the movement.

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Comments

  1. Patricia says

    13th May 2019 at 3:54 am

    Thanks it was really useful for me

    Reply
  2. Soopy KM says

    9th November 2019 at 5:15 pm

    Thanks, It’s very informative.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    15th April 2020 at 8:33 pm

    I love your explanation of this!!!

    Reply
  4. faiza ejaz says

    16th October 2020 at 1:31 pm

    thanks it’s really useful for me

    Reply
  5. D.Rajendran says

    6th March 2021 at 11:15 am

    Really super

    Reply
  6. hosain says

    5th June 2021 at 8:43 am

    hey there ! your explanation was really clear and as perfect as it was possible to be. you really got it straight very well. i wish you all the best. ( i am from Iran )

    Reply
  7. Ali says

    27th March 2022 at 7:32 am

    Thanks

    Reply

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