“Farther” vs “Further” in Inspection Reports

by Nick Gromicko

Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that farther and further are interchangeable. However, recently, their use is becoming distinguished by grammarians. Here is the difference:

Farther should be used to show a relation to physical distance:  “The downspout should discharge farther from the house.”

A little trick is to see if an actual distance can be used in place of the word farther in your sentence:  “The downspout should discharge 6 feet from the house.”  If it can, you were correct in using farther.

Further should be used when referring to degree, time, space, or extent or depth, as in:  “This problem should be investigated further by a roofing contractor.”

On a side note:  You’ll go a lot further in your inspection career if you become a Certified Master Inspector®