Common Mistakes : Far

adjective

.BAD: Singapore is far from London
.GOOD: Singapore is a long way from London

.BAD: ‘It’s far to the nearest garage,’ she said
.GOOD: ‘It’s a long way to the nearest garage,’ she said

: Far is mainly used in questions and negative sentences
?How far is it to the station
.Oxford isn’t far from London
.It’s not far

: In affirmative sentences, people usually say a long way
.Their house is a long way from the town centre

: Far is used in affirmative sentences only when it appears in phrases such as too far, quite far or far away
.I suggest you take the bus – it’s too far to walk

.BAD: When the bomb exploded, everyone tried to get as far as possible
.GOOD: When the bomb exploded, everyone tried to get as far away as possible

: A place that is a long distance from another place is far away
.Her children all live far away, but they still manage to visit her

.BAD: My village is about 10 minutes far away from Ayia Napa
.GOOD: My village is about 10 minutes (away) from Ayia Napa

Far cannot be used after a unit of distance
: Compare
(The house is rather far from the school. (WITHOUT unit of distance
(The house is about two kilometres (away) from the school. (WITH unit of distance