word choice - Afterward versus afterwards -- which, and/or when?


So, I've noticed over time that I see both "afterward" and "afterwards" at different times. Having a pet peeve (though I'm not certain it's actually a well-founded prejudice, lexicographically speaking) against hearing "anyways", I've started to wonder recently about "afterwards".


With a quick bit of web searching, I turned up this analysis, which I find to be somewhat helpful, I'm just wondering if there's more that people could say to help me get an intuitive understanding of when to use which, or otherwise why to use one versus the other.


I suppose (as mentioned in the linked article) this question could also apply to forward, backward, toward, etc.


Which shall I use? When? Why? Does the 's' indicate some sort of plural meaning, or something else?




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