friends or foes

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrase

   people who either support you or oppose you; used when asking or saying which side someone is on.

   Grammar: Used as a noun phrase; it often follows 'are', 'whether' or a preposition such as 'of'.

   Patterns

   • Are they friends or foes?
   • whether someone is a friend or a foe
   • treat someone as a friend or a foe

   With the election so close, nobody is sure whether the newspapers are friends or foes.

   The speech asked a simple question: are these new technologies our friends or foes?

   She studied the faces around the table, unable to tell friends or foes.

2. 2phrasefixed phrasefigurative

   used to describe something that can help you or harm you, depending on how it is used.

   Grammar: Here the phrase describes things or ideas, not people; it commonly follows 'are' or 'can be'.

   Patterns

   • something is friends or foes
   • something can be friend or foe

   For a young writer, social media can be friends or foes, depending on how it is used.

   In this desert, water and wind are friends or foes to every traveler.

Common combinations

be friends or foes

In this story, the animals are friends or foes to the boy.

whether they are friends or foes

The report does not say whether these groups are friends or foes.

tell friends from foes

In the dark, the soldiers could not tell friends from foes.

friends or foes?

New neighbors moving in — friends or foes?

make friends or foes

Every decision in politics makes friends or foes.

Synonyms and how they differ

friends or enemies

The everyday version of this phrase; 'foe' is more literary and dramatic than 'enemy'.

allies or opponents

More formal and political; it stresses taking sides rather than personal friendship.

Word family

friend noun

a person you like and trust.

foe noun

an enemy; a literary or formal word.

friendly adjective

kind and pleasant toward others.

friendship noun

the relationship between friends.

Commonly confused: friends or foes or friends and foes?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “friends or foes”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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