单词 farther 与 further(两者均可当作形容词或副词使用)都是形容词 / 副词 far 的比较级形式。虽然这些单词有时可以互换,但还是要记住两者之间存在重要差异。
尽管这两个单词都可用来表达“较远的距离”,但一般而言,farther 应使用于与实体距离有关的状况,而 further 则应使用于与非实体距离有关的状况。通过以下例句说明这种差异。
- I walked 10 km farther than I needed to.
- The two groups’ positions on the key issues were further apart after the meeting than before.
除了上述例句所显示的差异,两者的使用广度也有明显不同。具体来说,虽然 further 可用于表达 more、other、in addition 及 additional(ly) 的意思,但 farther 并不具有这类意思。以下将说明前述 further 的用法。
- Further discussion of this point is given below.
- They requested further funding for their research.
- This is the first experiment of its kind to yield such clear results. Further, it was performed using a very simple technique.
如果将句中的 further 替换为 farther,则构成的句子将令人无法理解。