farther or further

Status
Not open for further replies.

daisy1352

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Member Type
Student or Learner
He is throwing the ball farther and farther.
Can we use "further" here?

The more slowly I run, the farther I can go.
Can we use "further" here?
Thanks
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
He is throwing the ball farther and farther.
Can we use "further" here?

The more slowly I run, the farther I can go.
Can we use "further" here?
Thanks

In modern English "farther" and "further" are interchangeable.
 

TheParser

VIP Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
He is throwing the ball farther and farther.
Can we use "further" here?

The more slowly I run, the farther I can go.
Can we use "further" here?
Thanks
***NOT A TEACHER***In the United States, some teachers have this "rule": use "farther" only if you are talking about real distance. So "He is throwing the ball farther" (because it's real distance that you can measure). But: "You will go further in life if you are a nice person."
 

2006

Key Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
***NOT A TEACHER***In the United States, some teachers have this "rule": use "farther" only if you are talking about real distance. So "He is throwing the ball farther" (because it's real distance that you can measure). But: "You will go further in life if you are a nice person."
I am more flexible and would say 'go farther in life'. But I think that saying something like 'Farther to the above...' is not acceptable. So, to me, they are not interchangeable.
http://dictionary.referencecom/browse/farther
 

2006

Key Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
He is throwing the ball farther and farther.
Can we use "further" here?

The more slowly I run, the farther I can go.
Can we use "further" here?
Thanks
I would only use "farther" in those two sentences. But I think some might use "further".
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top