Word Pairs: Farther? Further?
Believe it or not, farther and further each have distinctly different meanings although people tend to use them interchangeably.
And it’s no surprise, because these two words look a lot alike, sound a lot alike, and the difference in meaning is quite subtle. Plus, there are a few circumstances when they are legitimately interchangeable.
Let’s solve the farther, further mystery for once and for all. After all, word pairs aren’t difficult or confusing if you make them fun!
Farther
The word farther deals with physical distance or that which can be measured. One way to remember this is to recall the phrase “far away.”
Examples include:
- I jog a little farther each day.
- Do you live farther away from the city now?
- The library is farther from my house than the bookstore.
Further
Further also deals with distance, but not in physical terms. Use further when you’re talking about figurative distance or a general advancement. Some interchangeable terms include furthermore, moreover, and in addition. Further also indicates a greater degree of something. Here are examples of how to use further correctly in a sentence:
- I’ll be delving further into the topic at a later date.
- I am further along in my holiday shopping than I was last year at this time.
- Further, I intend to finish my shopping before the end of the week.
Farther / Further
In some cases, you can use either of these words, especially when the distinction isn’t clear. For example, if you are discussing a book, you could argue that there is physical distance between the pages because they can be measured. However, since the distance between pages is not geographical in nature, usage of farther or further is ambiguous. When it’s not completely clear which word to use, you can choose either one, though it’s usually safer to go with further because it has less restriction that its cousin.
- I’m farther along in the book than other members of my book club.
- The other members of my book club are further along in the book than I am.
If you have any tips for remembering farther – further, then please do tell!
Do you have grammar questions? Are there any word pairs that confound you? Send me an e-mail or leave a comment with your suggestions for grammar topics!
That is interesting. I’ve been taught that these two words are interchangeable, but I’ve always used them the way you’ve just described here. It just makes more sense to me that way.
This is not exactly related, but I’ve also been taught that the words “theater” and “theatre” are just the same word spelled in different ways. However, I like to use “theatre” when I refer to the art of stage performance and “theater” as the physical venue that actors perform in. I don’t know why I do that, but that just happened to make more sense to me.
Kelvin Kao´s last blog ..Taiwanese Puppets at World Games Opening Ceremony
“Theater” and “theatre” always irk me. I’ve noticed that spell check doesn’t like “theatre,” I’ve looked it up and haven’t yet found a definitive answer, but the consensus seems to be that “theater” is the American spelling while “theatre” is British. Some say that both are acceptable or that “theatre” is sometimes used to sound more British or traditional. I tend to use “theater” myself.
Great one! I notice that a LOT of people have trouble with this. I’m definitely passing this along to some of those people right now.
Positively Present´s last blog ..happiness and the city
I actually think that eventually, these two words will become one, and why shouldn’t they? Physical versus figurative distance and the difference of a single letter… seems arbitrary to me, but we like to be good grammarians, right?
So for now, yes, let’s spread the word!
Figurative distance vs. measurable distance … I like that.
I also like how you took it further and showed the ambiguity case.
J.D. Meier´s last blog ..Strength and Weakness
I like the word figurative. It’s so mysterious… and ambiguous.
This is great! Just today I was commenting on someone’s blog using both farther and further and after I hit “submit” I asked myself, “did I use those two correctly?” Then I visited your blog and sure enough I did! Great information!
kimberly´s last blog ..Attention Please
Kimberly, that sounds like serendipity to me!