Further (fɜːʳðəʳ) and Farther (fɑːðəʳ) are both adverbs (words that describe actions) and adjectives (words that describe things). They are also the comparative form of far, which means ‘to be at a distance’. As a result, further and farther mean: ‘to a greater distance or degree’ – e.g. The hikers were so tired, they couldn’t walk any farther or James decided that if he had further problems with the car, he would sell it.
Most of the time, in British English, when using farther and further as adjectives and adverbs, there is no difference between these words. We can say:
However, in American English, there is a difference in this type of sentence. In American English, they only use farther to describe physical distances.
The first sentence is correct because 5 miles is a physical distance that we can measure.
In American English, they use further to talk about figurative and symbolic distances:
The first example is correct because we cannot measure the distance the teacher describes – the progress of his studies is not a physical distance but a metaphorical one.
The key to remembering the American English rule is to ask yourself: is this a physical distance that we can measure? If it is, use farther. If it is not, use further.
Thinking about physical distances and metaphorical differences can be complicated. Sometimes the unit of measurement (such as 5 miles) is not present in the sentence:
Farther is still correct because we can imagine that the distance is in kilometres or miles.
Alternatively, we might be talking about something that measures time and not distance.
But what if you are writing a report? Do you think of it in terms of time or distance? For example:
Here, further could relate to the time it takes to write the report – it is not a physical distance but a measurement of time, so we need further. But could we also think of the report in terms of the words written, pages, printed copies? Are these not physical distances? The short answer is no. The distance must be a number, such as metres, centimetres, kilometres, yards or miles. So, only further is correct in this instance in American English.
In British English, you don’t have to worry about the above questions – farther or further are correct in all sentences. That being said, we do use further much more in British English than farther.
In British English and American English, the adjectives and adverbs further and farther also mean: ‘additional, extra or more’. However, in British English, we only use further as an adjective when it comes before a noun:
Both details and information are nouns (things), so we must use further as an adjective to describe them. Farther is not possible here.
The above tip is also true if we think about further as a verb, which means ‘to make progress with something or to build on something’:
This rule also applies to American English. If further is a verb, and you can replace it with phrases such as ‘make progress with…’ or ‘build on…’, then always use further.
The fact further is a verb also means that it can appear in different forms – e.g. Helen furthers her education by attending night classes or Watching YouTube videos is furthering Sandy’s guitar playing.
If we change the word in any way, we can only use further:
The bottom line, in British English, is that if you use further, you will always be correct!
Comparative adverb or adjective: ‘to a greater distance or degree’.
Synonyms: more distant, to a greater degree, to a greater extent.
Set expression: Further afield, further down the road, cannot be further from the truth, take something further, go further, on further inspection.
Additional meanings:
Examples with further in a sentence:
Comparative adverb or adjective: ‘to a greater distance or degree’.
Synonyms: more distant, to a greater degree, to a greater extent.
Set expressions: In British English, we advise you to avoid using the set expressions in further with farther, even if they are technically correct. This is because you will find some expressions that only sound right with further.
Additional meanings:
Examples with farther in a sentence:
You need not look any further for a chance to further your understanding of further and farther. Try the exercises below! The questions concern British English only (unless otherwise stated). For more info on similar word pairs, check out our post on commonly confused words in English!
Answers: