Do We Add “S” to Anyway, Regard, and Toward? | Usage Tips

Do we add an s to words like anyway, regard, and toward? Rather than give the nondescript response I love to use, “It depends,” I will dive into the topic with a bit of detail. Some may say that it is all about American and British usage, but this is not always the case, and when needed, I’ll indicate whether it is an issue related to such differences. As usual, references are included at the end for further reading.

Anyway and Anyways

Whether to use anyway or anyways is fairly straightforward. Chicago (2017, 311) and Garner (2003, 53) both tell us that anyways is dialectical and considered nonstandard usage. Dump the s and go for anyway. I checked three British sources and none had any information on the topic and none had instances of either anyway or anyways. Anyway, it is safe to say, avoid the s. Let’s move toward or towards the next topic.

Toward and Towards

The argument about whether it should be toward or towards is pretty simple as well. Oxford (2014, 419) tells us that towards occurs in both American and British English but also indicates, as does The Economist (2018, 162), that toward is considered more proper in American English while it rarely occurs in British English. So, whether to include the s or not is purely related to differences between American and British English.

To use or not to use an s is summed up nicely by Chicago (355), and the description includes additional examples, “In British English, towards predominates. The same is true for other directional words, such as upward, downward, forward, and backward, as well as afterward.” In sum, American English generally has no s; British English generally does. It may well be a pain in the s. But shall we go onward or onwards? I do not know.

Regard and Regards

Regards

I’ll start with regards as a plural. Generally, the plural form is used at the end of a letter when you want to send your compliments and wishes to the receiver (Petelin 2022, 244). Operating along these lines, regards as a plural makes the most sense. I can think of no instance where sending your “best wish” would be considered anything but stingy. It doesn’t cost much to add more than one wish, so be more generous. In the same vein, stock phrases like “Best regards,” “With kind regards,” or the ever-so-terse “Regards” should always be plural.

At this point, someone may ask about the phrase as regards. Yes, this is “a traditional literary idiom” (Garner 286). But no one really uses it because it is considered a solecism for those not in the know or old fashioned for those that are. It is best to avoid it. Let dinosaurs become fossils.

Oh, I should also mention that you could also give your regards to Broadway or to James or to anyone else. But in this case, your regards are well-wishes and friendly greetings.

Regard

Both with regard to and in regard to are compound prepositions that mean the same as in relation to or similar phrasings. If you were to use regards in either of these compounds, it would be like saying in wishes to, which makes no sense at all. Using plural forms like in regards to and with regards to “is, to put it charitably, poor usage” (Garner 682). Chicago (337) also says that the plural form is nonstandard. And to clarify, this isn’t an issue related to American versus British English. While The Economist and Oxford don’t have prescriptive rules on the matter, both publications do have several instances of with regard to but none with the plural form.

Turning Things Around

Having explained the meaning and accepted usage of regard, I will now recommend not using either compound since with regard to and in regard to are a bit wordy, and many one-word alternatives—about, concerning, and regarding—can work as comparable replacements. The original sentence below isn’t so different to the suggested alternatives.

Original: With regard to your last letter, I would like to suggest having an online meeting.

Alternative 1: About your last letter, I would like to suggest having an online meeting.

Alternative 2: Concerning your last letter, I would like to suggest having an online meeting.

Alternative 3: Regarding your last letter, I would like to suggest having an online meeting.

A simple question: why use three words when one would do?

References

The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. 2017. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

The Economist Style Guide. 12th ed. 2018. London: Profile Books Ltd.

Garner, Bryan A. 2003. Garner’s Modern American Usage. New York: Oxford University Press.

New Hart’s Rules: The Oxford Style Guide. 2nd ed. 2014. New York: Oxford University Press.

Petelin, Roslyn. 2022. How Writing Works: A Field Guide to Effective Writing. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.