Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
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Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

24-Hour Proofreading Service—We proofread your Google Docs or Microsoft Word files. We hate grammatical errors with a passion. Learn More

Farther/Further?

When should I use “farther” as opposed to “further”? ex. I went farther down the road than I expected. I went further down the road than I expected.

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These two words are commonly used interchangeably, but there is a difference between them.

"Farther" refers to physical or geographic distance.

Example: The apartment I want is farther from my office.

"Further" is more abstract. It refers to time or degree or quantity. It's another way of saying "additional."

Examples:

I have to look further into the question of moving farther from my office.
There was no further discussion.

Tony1 Sep-28-2005

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Use farther when you're talking about physical distances.

Farther down the road.
They're further along in their plans than I expected.

ladyjane Sep-28-2005

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Additionally, forgetting grammar rules:

You can also ask the question 'How far is it?'

Sentence to use: The apartment I want is farther from my office.

Use farther or further????????

The question: The apartment is how far from my office?

Use FARther for the word FAR as it refers to physical distance. You wouldn't say "The apartment is how FUR from my office?

Walter Sep-28-2005

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And I always thought that 'farther' is American English while 'further' is the British equivalent.

Jiri1 Sep-28-2005

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I will always use "further". Maybe it's because I'm a purist, and Australian, but I do not use "farther" in any context.
See, if I say "It is further away", "futher" is correct because it is being used in the time context, even though distance is inferred...

Jock Oct-12-2005

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In most (not all) cases, further can be used in place of farther, but there are more cases where farther can not be used in place of further.

porsche Oct-26-2005

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Farther is used in reference to distance
Further is used in reference to time or quantity

jaweed Nov-29-2005

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So, does your money go farther or further?

shannon1 Aug-09-2006

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According to the American Heritage Dictionary, since the Middle English period many writers have used farther and further interchangeably.

John4 Aug-09-2006

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That is be true, John, but there are certainly examples where "further" cannot be replaced by "farther". "Further" may also mean "additional" while "farther" cannot.
"Here are further examples of this" cannot be replaced by "Here are farther examples of this." and you have never heard "farthermore", have you?:)

porsche Aug-10-2006

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Good point!

John4 Aug-11-2006

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"Farther" also means "more far."

Correct?

shannon1 Nov-27-2006

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In the UK most of us use 'further' for everything, as Fowler, who disapproved of this new rule, predicted. For more details, you can read my post:

http://random-idea-english.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/q-further-or-farther-british.html

Warsaw Will Aug-16-2012

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What if you want to use further/farther "down the road of destruction"? it's not literally a physical distance... so can you use further in this case?

LT Sep-11-2013

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