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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

What friends are for vs. whatare friends for vs. etc.

Hi,

A. That is what friends are for.
B. That is what are friends for.
C. That is what friends for are.
D. That is for what friends are.
E. That is for what are friends.

1. Which of the sentences above are correct?
2. Which is most natural?
3. Can I also say "Those are" instead of "That is"?
4. I think "Those are" refer to two or more purposes of friendship and "That is" refer to only one of the purposes of friendship. Would you agree? If not, what is the difference?
5. Can I also use 'is' instead of 'are' in the example sentences assuming there is only one purpose of friendship I'm thinking of?

Please advise. Thank you very much.
  

Top answer

Anonymous A. That is what friends are for. B.

— CalifJim

  • Anonymous A.
  • That is what friends are for.
  • B.
  • That is what are friends for.
  • C.
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5 Answers
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AnonymousA. That is what friends are for.
B. That is what are friends for.
C. That is what friends for are.
D. That is for what friends are.
E. That is for what are friends.

1. Which of the sentences above are correct?
A only.
Anonymous3. Can I also say "Those are" instead of "That is"?
I don'
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Thank you, CJ.
CalifJimIf I were you, I would put aside any desire to use "those" in that context.
1. If "those" were to be avoided, do you think "That is" is possible to refer to more than one purpose or all purposes of friendship, but taken as a whole so "is" is used?
2. Is it the same as saying the following?

That is all
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Anonymousdo you think "That is" is possible to refer to more than one purpose or all purposes of friendship, but taken as a whole so "is" is used?
Yes.

That is all what friends are for. Not correct.
That all is what friends are for. Correct, but not natural.
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Thank you so much for your explanations. Great help.
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Hello! I think you have missed the point here. The statement, "That's what friends are for," is grammatically incorrect due to the dangling preposition, in this instance ending the statement with "for." None of the four choices above is correct. Option A is widely used but is also incorrect. The correct grammar could be, "That's what friends do," or some variation on that theme. Thank

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