The words "farther" and "further" are some of the most commonly confused words in English. Many people believe they are interchangeable, but this is a serious misconception. "Farther" and "further" have distinctly different definitions and uses.
The word "farther" is used to describe physical distance. For instance, one might say, "Walk five steps farther and you'll be able to see over the hill." On the other hand, the word "further" is used in a metaphorical sense, such as "We need to take this idea a little further." "Further" is also used in relation to time, as in "Hopefully this will present no further issues," or "We need to go a little further back in history to fully understand this."
We hope you won't have any further problems using the words "farther" and "further" after reading this article!