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Q: Farther? Q: Farther?
A: Six miles. A: Nine centimetres.
Q: Further? Q: Further?
A: No, I've heard enough. A: Just around the corner.
If you're unsure which to use because it's difficult to make a distinction between physical and
figurative distance, opt for further.
The clue is the stem far. This obviously relates to physical distance. The words can be used
interchangeably for two reasons:
It's not clear whether you're talking about physical distance or non-physical distance.
This is quite common. When it happens, opt for further.
The distinction between the words is disappearing. If you're unsure which to use, opt
for further. It is slowly taking the place of farther.
Farther
If you're a stickler for the rules, then farther should be used with physical distance. In other
words, if you're thinking about more miles, more kilometres, more inches, more centimetres,
etc., then you almost certainly want farther.
Further
Further should be used with non-physical distance. If you're not thinking about more miles
etc. but more time, more effort (in fact, more anything that isn't distance), then you almost
certainly want further. Further is more diverse than farther. Farther is limited to the idea of
more distance. Further, on the other hand, covers all topics (even distance these days) and
can mean furthermore, moreover, more, additional, extra and supplementary.
Q: Further?
A: No, I get your point.
Q: Further?
A: Two days.
Q: Further?
A: We still have over a 100 to make.
Q: Further?
A: It's just around the corner.
(Farther would have been okay too, but further is less likely to be frowned upon.)
Q: Further?
A: Three more fence posts.
(Farther would have been okay too, but further is less likely to be frowned upon.)
Q: Further?
A: Twenty-six pages.
(At a push, you could make a case for farther here, but further would be better as pages aren't
physical distance. This overlap of ideas is common, so don't beat yourself up if you're
struggling to make a clear distinction. When you're in that situation, go for further.)
It is common for the notions of physical distance (i.e., when you should be using farther) and
figurative distance (i.e., when you should be using further) to overlap.