Learn English – Comparative or superlative use of the word “far”

comparativessuperlative-degree

Which sentence is correct?

The quarterback threw the ball farthest than anyone else on the team.

The quarterback threw the ball farther than anyone else on the team.

The quarterback threw the ball further than anyone else on the team.

Best Answer

How many quarterbacks are there? If there is one quarterback, he can throw far.

If there are two quarterbacks, one can throw farther than the other.

You need a comparison between three of a thing to use farthest (or biggest, tallest, smartest, etc.)

If everybody on the team is throwing the ball, then you'd be technically correct to say he threw the farthest (if he did).

The difference between farther and further is another matter.

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