Fight vs fight with is confusing. I will admit it as a native speaker. This pair gets used incorrectly a lot. I’ve noticed many learners use “fight” when they meant “fight with,” and “fight with” when they meant “fight.” What is the difference?
Fight is about physical harm (ง’̀-‘́)ง
If I fight someone, someone is ending up in the hospital.
She keeps talking behind my back, so I will fight her the second I see her.
= She says a lot of mean things about me secretly, so I am going to hurt her.
Fight with is about arguing. 😡
If I fight with someone, someone is ending up crying in the bathroom.
He fought with his sister because she ate the last chocolate.
= They yelled and argued because of who wanted the chocolate.
If you see fight with about war or battles, it is about fighting together against someone else.
It’s not the phrasal verb “fight with.” It’s the verb “fight” using the preposition “with” to mean together.
In World War II, the United States fought with the Soviet Union.
= The US and USSR worked together in the war.
As a noun, the verb and the phrasal verb both use “with.” You cannot tell which “fight” it is without context.
The government increased security due to increasing fights with police.
= The government added soldiers or police or cameras because some people attacked police.
After the fight with her boyfriend last night, she realized how scary he can get.
= The couple argued and yelled a lot, and he showed a lot of emotion at that time.
In summary:
- fight ALONE is about physical conflict.
- fight with is about arguments and quarrels
- fight ALONE can have use the word “with” just like any other verb to mean together. The way you know it’s not a phrasal verb is if it’s about a physical conflict.
Hopefully, now you will not misuse fight vs fight with. If you want to see more English language explanations, I have many more available on my sight. Happy language learning!
