Furthermore means “in addition”, “besides” or “what is more”. It goes before the next point once the first one has been made. The word is formal: it suits an essay, a report or an official letter, but sounds rather heavy in conversation.
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first point. Furthermore, + next point; clause; furthermore, + clause
- Cities should build more cycle lanes. Furthermore, bike rental should be cheaper for students and pensioners.
- The study was based on a small group of volunteers; furthermore, all of them lived in the same region.
- The new software is easy to use. Furthermore, it lets the whole team edit the same file at once.
What changed
First versionFirst, the tea leaves are picked by hand. Furthermore, they are dried in the sun.
RevisionFirst, the tea leaves are picked by hand. Next, they are dried in the sun.
Furthermore looks like further, “farther on”, so it is easy to take it as “next” in the sense of “then”. That is why the steps in a process description, for example in IELTS Writing Task 1, are sometimes linked with furthermore. But furthermore adds a point, not the next stage. The order of actions is shown with next, then or after that, so furthermore was replaced with next.
In an essay, furthermore and moreover are interchangeable, and alternating them helps you avoid repeating the same word. On its own, further usually means “more” or “in more detail”: We need to discuss this further.
Your turn
Online courses are usually cheaper than classroom ones. ___, students can watch each lesson again at any time.
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Furthermore — The second sentence gives another advantage of online courses, not the next event, so you need Furthermore. After that describes order in time: first one thing happens, then another.
Write a two-sentence complaint to a hotel or shop. In the first sentence, name one problem; in the second, use Furthermore to add another.
The room we booked was much smaller than in the photos. Furthermore, the air conditioning did not work for three days.
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