Problems copying files

cp: file pathname: Permission denied: Either the access permissions for this file do not permit you to copy it or the access permissions for the destination directory do not allow you to copy files into it.
cp: file_pathname: Is a directory (not copied).: You have tried to copy a directory.
cp: file pathname: No such file or directory: The file (or directory) that you have tried to copy does not exist.
Usage: cp [-ip] f1 f2; or: cp [-ipr] f1 ... fn d2: You have forgotten to specify the destination file (or directory).