student asking question

What is the difference between "back" and "backward"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

In this context, to "look back" and "look backwards" actually have the same meaning. "Back" describes the position of something, and "backward(s)" is used to describe the movement of something that is moving back. To "look backwards" means to look at something that is behind you, but it is not usually used in the metaphorical sense as often as "look back" is. For this reason, the sentence spoken by Steve Jobs in the video is slightly awkward. "But it was very, very clear looking back 10 years later" is actually a more natural way of expressing the action of reflecting upon past events. Ex: Looking back on my youth, I achieved more than I thought I did. Ex: There was a shout behind her. She quickly looked backwards.

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