Let’s Discuss This Further

People often use farther and further interchangeably.  Farther, however, should only be used when the distance described is literal and measurable, as in, “I drove farther than you did to get here,” or “Baltimore is farther away from New York than Philadelphia.”  Further is used in an abstract way when measurement is not possible, as in, “She was further worried by the new development.”  Now that we have explained this concept so well, there is no need to pursue it further!

For those movie buffs out there, perhaps you are familiar with the movie Finding Forester.  This grammatical rule created a magic moment in the film.  If you haven’t seen it, do so.  It’s worth it.