Chapter 1 Common Grammar Mistakes
15
farther/further, fewer/less
Some of us have been working on "farther" and "further" all our lives
and still have to stop and think about it, Mrs. B included.
"Farther" is a distance word:
v
I can throw the ball FARTHER.
"Farther" can be measured in inches or feet or yards or miles.
"Further," on the other hand, is about time or quantity:
v
I can see FURTHER into the future.
Another tough one to get straight is when to use "fewer" or "less."
"Fewer" deals with things that can be counted.
It answers the question "How many?":
v
We had FEWER viewers than the competition.
"Less" is for talking about quantity.
It answers the question "How much?":
v
I spend LESS time reading than I'd like to.
v
The company sent LESS than 50 percent of the newsroom to the
seminar. (It sent FEWER reporters than last year.)
And that brings up the exception to the above rules: use "less" when
referring to statistical or numerical expressions.
v
Gainesville is LESS than 40 miles away.
v
She is less than 5-foot-5.
Mrs. B hopes you get LESS hassle today and FEWER headaches.
