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That's not fixed at all, that's an opinion; the dictionary (several) says either is fine. There is no final, undisputed arbiter of what is right and proper in

That's not fixed at all, that's an opinion; the dictionary (several) says either is fine. There is no final, undisputed arbiter of what is right and proper in English, no Academy of English, no written law. Maybe there is consensus within a social group, nation, or profession, but a whole lot of these things are not provable. Less/fewer is another one where people pipe up and claim one is "correct" (again, according to whom?), when in actual fact, either is fine and no-one cares and it's not provable either way.

ternaryoperator 4y ago
Most sites that weigh in on this topic agree that "further" does not apply to physical distance. [0][1][2] [0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/is-it-further-or-farther-usage-how-to-use https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/is-it-further-... [1] https://www.grammarly.com/blog/farther-further/ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/farther-further/ [2] https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eb/qa/what-s-the-difference-between-further-and-farther https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eb/qa/what-s-the-diffe...
- PostOnce 4y ago
  And yet they're arguing with themselves. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/further https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/further "Farther and further have been used more or less interchangeably throughout most of their history," """ A polarizing process appears to be taking place in their adjective use. Farther is taking over the meaning of distance the farther shore and further the meaning of addition. needed no further invitation """ That, of course, means all of this is new and in no way "correct" by any current modern standard. It's just something quasi-literate internauts like to quip in the comments. Oh, and university style guide authors and editors who consider themselves authoritative, but to whom no-one except community college English teachers defer. Maybe I'm a little bit of a linguistic anarchist, I don't know.
  - aww_dang 4y ago
    It sounded off to me. The thread was useful. I'm not sure which side will prevail here. It isn't especially relevant to my usage.
foxhill 4y ago
my niece has her GCSEs coming up this summer, this information is going to put her at ease, let me tell you. :)

ternaryoperator 4y ago

Most sites that weigh in on this topic agree that "further" does not apply to physical distance. [0][1][2] [0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/is-it-further-or-farther-usage-how-to-use https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/is-it-further-... [1] https://www.grammarly.com/blog/farther-further/ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/farther-further/ [2] https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eb/qa/what-s-the-difference-between-further-and-farther https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eb/qa/what-s-the-diffe...

PostOnce 4y ago
And yet they're arguing with themselves. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/further https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/further "Farther and further have been used more or less interchangeably throughout most of their history," """ A polarizing process appears to be taking place in their adjective use. Farther is taking over the meaning of distance the farther shore and further the meaning of addition. needed no further invitation """ That, of course, means all of this is new and in no way "correct" by any current modern standard. It's just something quasi-literate internauts like to quip in the comments. Oh, and university style guide authors and editors who consider themselves authoritative, but to whom no-one except community college English teachers defer. Maybe I'm a little bit of a linguistic anarchist, I don't know.
- aww_dang 4y ago
  It sounded off to me. The thread was useful. I'm not sure which side will prevail here. It isn't especially relevant to my usage.

foxhill 4y ago

my niece has her GCSEs coming up this summer, this information is going to put her at ease, let me tell you. :)