Absolutely. In fact, before starting an intimate relationship, you SHOULD be friends first.
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I'd say yes 100% before you start dating, but can you still be friends after? My luck with that has been about 50/50. Even if it ends on good terms they sometimes just don't want that ex to be around for their next relationship.
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"It depends." If you are single, of course, you have carte blanche over your friends, and sometimes your friends become "more than friends." If you are dating someone, you can get away with it a bit if you have preexisting, long-term friendships with members of the opposite sex; your significant other, however, may express jealousy or, worse, secretly be jealous and allow this jealousy to manifest itself as something completely unrelated (arguing about irrelevant stuff, etc).

If you are married, woe to you. Your significant other will be on high-alert, sniffing out any type of friendships between you and other men/women. They will assume you are screwing the other person instead of going to work and that you are secretly in love with them. Seriously, I just don't think it is a good idea at all if you are in a committed, long-term relationship. This is just a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode. Yeah, it is "unfair," but the "good" always comes with a bit of "bad."

And, as I've mentioned on other posts, often, men and women think the "grass is always greener," so they may project feelings on another man/woman if their own relationships are lacking (and they almost ALWAYS are, considering how mythologized marriage or relationships are, and the exhaustive stereotypes movies and literature provide for the collective imagination).

Again, woe to you. Being a friend with a member of the opposite sex when you are not single can bring serious issues into an otherwise relationship. Hell, having friends AT ALL outside of a marriage or long-term relationship can cause serious jealousy issues this day in age (e.g., "You work all week and instead of coming home to me you go out with your friends!")
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yes, men and women can be just be friends .It all depends upon what each is looking for ..Mature relationship s are life long where men and women end s up being friend for life long. Good friendship are those where you seek guidance , knowledge and share your views
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I have had guy friends since I was 5. I can tell you that in the long run, the question of dating eventually comes up, either from you, from them, or from your friends. I can tell you that any guy I enjoy being around on a regular basis I will begin to get feelings for. Now that I'm married, I am careful not to make guy friends, and if you think about it, it seems a little weird for married men to have girl friends and married women to have guy friends. Why is that weird, but it's not weird for singles? Because in the long run, friendship grow and change, and an interest in a person of the opposite sex almost always will lead someone to wanting more.
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