backward
part of speech
adverb, adjective (backward; adverb also backwards)
meaning for a pupil
1) Backward means toward the back, or in the direction behind you. tree →
2) Backward means in the opposite order, from end to start. tree →
3) Backward (adjective) can mean slower to change or grow than others. tree →
sense in the lessons
counting down, moving back, or going in reverse order; on a number line, moving left; phrases «backward and forward», «count backward», «bend over backwards» (try very hard), «know it backwards»
examples
- Count backward from 20 by 2s. tree →
- He took 3 steps backward. tree →
- Read the number backward. tree →
- The frog jumps 5 feet forward and 2 feet backward. tree →
- She can say the alphabet backwards. tree →
- Walk backward slowly and carefully. tree →
- The video played backward. tree →
- Count backward from 10 to 1 for the rocket launch. tree →
- He fell backward into the pool. tree →
- She bent over backwards to help us. tree →
- He moved his head backwards and forwards and flew away. tree →
note
Moving backward takes away from a position. Trap: «backward» in a list means reverse order, not subtraction. In the UK «backwards» is more common as the adverb; «backward» is the adjective. Safety: look behind before you walk backward.
In the corpora
- The Mole falls over backwards in delight and praises the Rat's clever step-by-step thinking at great length.
- They go and find Jaguar, who is so astonished that he falls backwards over his tail three times.
- Jaguar «fell three times backward over his own painted tail».
- A palindrome reads the same forwards and backwards, such as mum, dad, Nan, level and noon.
- A girl in Minnesota went roller skating without wrist guards, fell backwards onto her hands and broke both wrists.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «backward» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.