How can you tell if a man wants to be just friends or wants to date?

[annie_redbull]

[FunkyMonkee]

The same could be asked of a woman.
Back in `79 or `80, this GORGEOUS redhead moved in next door and she seemed to like me a lot and made it a point to come meet me! Well, I didn't bother making any moves on her because, past history dictates that either she's already spoken for, doesn't like me enough to want to go beyond casual neighbors or has some other life situation that'll keep us apart or even take ANY advances from me as an assault and end up hating me!
Well, a few days after she moved in, I was sitting on the porch swing and she was walking up the street past my house (to get to hers) and she spotted me on the porch and decided to come up onto my porch and sit next to me and talk to me! We got on quite well together and she seemed to like me a lot!! Every day, for the next month or so, she'd come home from work and come over to sit and talk with me before even bothering to go to her place to eat or maybe change out of her work clothes, etc.. She'd hang out with me for an hour or two every day and, once I discovered she played backgammon, I made sure I had my board with me on the porch so we could play a few games while we talked.
Everything pointed at her liking me enough to want to be my girlfriend! But, I dared not ask because that'd probably kill the friendship we had!! I'd rather hang onto the friendship than risk losing it by asking if we could take it a step further! So, I never DID find out if she would've gone further with me!

[dragoblack]

By asking him. Literally just ask. Don't hint, don't insinuate, don't assume, and don't test him, just ask. Communication skills are more attractive than trying to dance around the point

[Staximus]

He will ask you to go on a date, will want to spend time with just you without other friends around, etc

[Zionne]

when he doesn't take it seriously

[In_Trance]

Guys never want to be just friends. Ever