Question

Choose the idiom which best fills the blank from the four options.
We ____________ him for his misfortune.
A. Sympathise with
B. Sympathise for
C. Sympathise at
D. Sympathise on

Answer 1

Hint: The sentence suggests somebody’s misfortune, which means an ill happening or a tragedy. The given idiom ‘sympathise’ means to express sympathy with someone which means to share or express feelings of compassion specifically in times of sorrow. Example: I sympathise with you for your loss.

Complete step by step answer:
Let us discuss all the given options in detail to know the correct answer.
Sympathise with: By implying this option, the sentence becomes “We sympathise with him for his misfortune”, which is grammatically correct. Sympathise is a sharable feeling, therefore, is often followed by ‘with’. This option frames the sentence correctly.
Sympathise for: By implying this option, the sentence becomes “We sympathise for him for his misfortune”, which is grammatically incorrect. Though the feeling of sympathy can be expressed for, in this case, the subject ‘ his misfortune’ is already followed by ‘for’. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
Sympathise at: By implying this option, the sentence becomes “We sympathise at him for his misfortune”, which is grammatically incorrect as a feeling is not expressed or shared ‘at’ someone. Therefore, this is an incorrect option.
Sympathise on: By implying this option, the sentence becomes “We sympathise on him for his misfortune”, which is grammatically incorrect as a feeling is not expressed or shared ‘on’ someone while referring to an individual. Therefore, this is an incorrect option.

So, the correct answer is “Option A”.

Note:
The phrase ‘sympathise with’ refers to supporting a cause, being in favour of. While ‘sympathise for’ means feeling sorry for somebody’s loss or miserable condition. But in the given sentence, the cause ‘for his misfortune’ is already stated. Therefore, ‘sympathise for’ in this sentence becomes grammatically incorrect.
Example: We sympathise with him for the injustice caused to him.
Example: We sympathise with your loss.