Friendly With: Standard Pattern
Friendly With: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “friendly with” when describing a friendly relationship or personal terms between people.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| people have a friendly personal relationship or are on friendly terms | friendly with + person | Use “friendly with” for the relationship between people. |
| behavior or attitude is directed toward someone | friendly to + person/group | Use “friendly to” when the focus is how someone behaves toward another. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you describing an ongoing friendly relationship between people?
If yes: Use “friendly with.”
If no: Use “friendly to” when the focus is behavior or attitude directed toward someone.
Caveat: This guide keeps “friendly with” tied to the documented relationship sense rather than treating it as interchangeable with every use of “friendly to.”
Examples
She is friendly with several people on the team.
The phrase describes an ongoing relationship.
I became friendly with my neighbors.
The construction describes developing friendly relations.
He is friendly with the new manager.
The focus is the relationship between the two people.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “friendly with” when describing a friendly relationship or personal terms between people.
Style Boundary
Cambridge also documents “friendly to/towards” for friendly behavior or attitude; keep the relationship sense of “friendly with” distinct from those alternatives.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- FRIENDLY | English meaning — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct Cambridge dictionary evidence for friendly with in the relationship sense and for alternative friendly to/towards patterns.