Once all is said and done: Afterward vs. Afterwards

Great news: You can’t get this one wrong. Either version of the word is correct.

Both are used across the English-speaking world, though in the United States and Canada, afterward is slightly more preferred while in the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere afterwards is used liked a bit more.

Because of this, some American language teachers tend to view afterwards as more formal – as the United States generally considers the Queen’s English more formal sounding – and recommend afterwards be used in academic or official works.

As a side note, afterward has a different meaning than afterword. The latter is an epilogue; you can remember the difference because “word” is used when referring to a part of a written book.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past decade, I’ve helped more than 300 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.