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Prepositions after adjectives

Friendly with vs friendly to

Friendly to is the standard pattern for behaviour toward people, animals, or things. Friendly with is also used, especially for personal relationships.

Quick answer

Which preposition follows friendly?

Use friendly to when describing kind or positive behaviour toward someone or something. Use friendly with mainly for personal or social relationships, especially between people.

The staff were friendly to visitors.
She has always been friendly with our neighbours.
This software is friendly to beginners.
He became friendly with his new colleagues.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
friendly to + person or group

Describing kind behaviour

Use friendly to for polite, warm, or supportive behaviour toward people or animals.

The teacher was friendly to the children.
The hotel is friendly to pets.
2
friendly to + user or environment

Talking about suitability

Friendly to can describe products, systems, or actions that are easy or beneficial for someone or something.

The app is friendly to beginners.
The company promotes friendly to the environment packaging.
3
friendly with + person

Talking about social relationships

Friendly with describes a friendly relationship between people.

She is friendly with her coworkers.
He became friendly with the local shop owner.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
friendly to
The guide was friendly to tourists.
Showing kindness or positive behaviour toward someone.
friendly with
She is friendly with her neighbours.
Having a friendly relationship with someone.
friendly to + thing
This cleaner is friendly to sensitive skin.
Safe or suitable for something.
friendly against
They played a friendly against Spain.
Here friendly is a noun meaning a non-competitive sports match.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using friendly with for treatment

For behaviour toward someone, friendly to is usually more natural.

✕ The waiter was friendly with us. ✓ The waiter was friendly to us.

Using friendly to for mutual relationships

For personal relationships between people, friendly with is common.

✕ She is friendly to my sister. ✓ She is friendly with my sister.

Confusing adjective and noun uses

Friendly can also be a noun in sports.

✕ It was a friendly to Spain. ✓ It was a friendly against Spain.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The website is very ___ new users.
2. He became ___ his classmates after a few weeks.
3. The receptionist was extremely ___ us.

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Frequently asked questions

Is friendly with correct?

Yes. It is commonly used for friendly relationships between people.

Can friendly to describe technology?

Yes. Expressions such as user-friendly or friendly to beginners are common.

What is the difference between friendly to and kind to?

Friendly to emphasises warmth and positive attitude, while kind to focuses more on caring actions.

face-to-face-with-in-at-for, to "fair to" or "fair in"? faithful to, in, of, with or for? falling of, in, out, into or off? "false in" or "false to"? famed for, as, in or throughout? familiar with, to, from or in? famous for, in, of, by or as? fanatical about, in, as, for or of? "fantastic for" or "fantastic in"? far from, in, to, for or with? fascinating to, about, in, for or as?

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