Adjectives

“Farther” vs. “Further”

Adjectives, Adverbs, Versus

I often hear these two words used interchangeably.

Problem:
These two words, whether as adjectives or as adverbs, are not quite synonyms.

Explanation:
Although it is true that “farther” and “further” have been used interchangeably for years, grammarians today increasingly consider these two words to have a physical-versus-metaphorical distinction.

As an adjective, the primary meaning of the word “farther” is more remote or distant than some place or something closer.

An example of the use of “farther” as an adjective is “The truck is on the farther side of the warehouse.”

As an adverb, the primary meaning of the word “farther” is to or at a great distance.

An example of the use of “farther” as an adverb is “Chuck Yeager flew farther toward outer space than did any of his contemporaries.”

As an adjective, the primary non-“farther” meaning of the word “further” is more extended.

An example of the use of “further” as an adjective is “Any further delay in our flight home would mean that we would not be home for Christmas.”

As an adverb, the primary non-“farther” meaning of the word “further” is to or at a more advanced point.

An example of the use of “further” as an adverb is “I may not go further with my studies until I pass that exam.”

Solution:
Use “farther” only for physical distance; prefer “further” for metaphorical distance (in space or time).

“Preventative” vs. “Preventive”

Adjectives, Nouns, Versus

I often hear these words used interchangeably.

Problem:
It was not clear — at least not to me, anyway — which word is correct.

Explanation:
The word “preventive” as an adjective means serving to hinder or prevent.

The word “preventive” as a noun means a preventive measure or agent.

The word “preventive” dates back to 1630-1640.

The word “preventative” is noted by some dictionaries as being a synonym of the word “preventive” — whether as an adjective or as a noun.

However, at least one dictionary — Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary — says that “preventative” is incorrectly used instead of “preventive”.

Solution:
Given these facts, use “preventive” instead of “preventative” — as either an adjective or a noun.

“Safety Deposit Box”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders

I kept hearing this the other evening in a TV drama.

Problem:
“Safety” is the wrong adjectival modifier here.

Explanation:
I was watching an episode of the Fox TV show “Fringe”, and the drama began with thieves using a bizarre method to break into a bank safe filled with depositors’ boxes so that they could steal a particular box.

All of the actors referred to the mystery box in question as a “safety deposit box”.

The correct phrase is “safe deposit box” because the deposit boxes reside in a safe.

Using “safety” instead of “safe” in front of “deposit box” seems to be a common English blunder.

For fun, I searched Google for each of the following (with the quotation marks, to avoid variations) and got about the indicated numbers of matches:

  • “safe deposit box” — 4,570,000 matches
  • “safety deposit box” — 2,000,000 matches

This tells me that Web authors have used the correct “safe deposit box” versus the incorrect “safe deposit box” by a ratio of 2.29-to-1, which is awful.

Solution:
“Safe Deposit Box”