I am not a native speaker (my mother tongue is German).
In the context of a technical paper (computer science), is there a difference between starting a sentence with Further, … and starting it with Furthermore, … ? It is used in the context of continuing a sentence.
I wasn't sure, so I asked an American English native speaker. He said to change the "Further" to "Furthermore".
Is it correct that the two phrases are not interchangable? My guess is, it would be safe to change all "Further, …" to "Furthermore, …", but the opposite is not true?
Also, is there a difference between British English and American English between "Further" and "Furthermore"?
Best Answer
Furthermore is used to introduce a new argument.
Further states that something goes beyond what was already said.
These two are clearly related, but not the same, and not interchangeable.
Generally if you used further at the start of a statement where you should have used furthermore the reader will be left wondering "further to what?".
No, they are not interchangeable in either direction.
In each of these, those marked with an asterisk are incorrect.
It's precisely because it's not safe to change all "Further,..." to "Furthermore,..." that you were advised to do so - in the case in question your colleague thought you meant furthermore when you used the completely different further.
That said, it's quite possible that all the other places where you have used further at the start of a sentence not only can, but should be changed to furthermore, because that's what you actually meant. Indeed, quite likely if you are asking this question.