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Cope up v. Cope with

"Welcome sa bahay ni Kuya. I hope you can cope up with the challenges inside,"

said the host of the Pinoy Big Brother on ABS-CBN. The phrase "cope up with" kept ringing in my ear.

In the English language usage, this is a common mistake. The correct phrase is "cope with." There are also cases where "cope" is enough.

To cope means to deal successfully with a difficult situation.

Examples:
It must be difficult to cope with five children and a job.
She had so much pressure on her in her job that eventually she just couldn't cope.

2 comments:

Margaret T said...

i, too am always syntax-challenged... but care less... then, how about "cope up"???

Meikah said...

The expression "cope up" is wrong because the right idiomatic expression is "cope with."