2021-05-18
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด – B – backward & backwards
แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง backward = ‘BAK-werd’
ออกเสียง backwards = ‘BAK-werdz’
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
back′ward·ly adv.
back′ward·ness n.
Usage Note:
Most American English dictionaries list -wards
as a spelling variant of the directional suffix -ward.
Accordingly, two variants are provided
for most of the adverbs that end with this suffix:
backward/backwards, toward/towards, upward/upwards, and so on.
Although both variants are considered acceptable,
the -ward suffix is more common in American English,
whereas the -wards suffix is more common in British English.
This distinction is more prominent in edited prose
than in casual writing or speech,
possibly because many American copyeditors
follow style manuals that recommend
or prescribe the -ward variant.
Despite this dialectal differentiation,
there remains significant variation in usage among individuals
and even among the different -ward words themselves.
This variation is evident in the results from our 2012 usage survey:
backwards and towards were deemed acceptable by 72 percent
and 69 percent of Panelists, respectively,
but only 38 percent found forwards to be acceptable.
Note that
for those -ward words that also function as adjectives,
the form without the s is standard:
a backward look; a westward journey.
Collins COBUILD English Usage
backwards
1. 'backwards'
If you move or Ilook backwards,
you move or look in the direction your back is facing.
The hummingbird can fly backwards.
He overbalanced and stepped backwards onto a coffee cup.
Lucille looked backwards at the once-lovely site where her great-great-grandparents' graves had lain.
If you do something backwards,
you do it the opposite way to the usual way.
Listen to the tape backwards.
2. 'backward'
Speakers of American English
sometimes say backward instead of 'backwards'.
The snout hit Hooper in the chest and knocked him backward.
In both British and American English, backward is an adjective.
A backward movement or look is one in which
someone or something moves or looks backwards.
She took a backward step.
Without a backward glance, he walked away.
When backward is an adjective,
it can only be used in front of a noun.
Common Errors in English Usage Dictionary
As an adverb,
either word will do:
“put the shirt on backward”
or “put the shirt on backwards.”
However, as an adjective, only“backward” will do:
“a backward glance.”
When in doubt, use “backward.”
