Stop saying Im sorry... say THIS instead 17 more advanced alternative phrases STORY LESSON

and everyone and welcome back to english

with Lucy today I have another video

with a hidden story I hid a story in my

last vocabulary video it was the one

about not using I think so the

alternatives for I think and I didn’t

say anything

I hid a story within the lesson and

people went nuts for it

so here we are with another one advice

websites everywhere will tell you to

stop apologising to stop saying I’m

sorry I have got 17 alternatives for you

they’re more advanced most of them are

more advanced some of them are more

formal they are just nicer more elegant

ways of apologizing to people so this

video is going to really help you with

your vocabulary but if you’d like to

improve your pronunciation and your

listening skills even further then I

highly recommend the special method of

combining reading books with listening

to the audiobook version at the same

time it might sound a little bit

complicated but let me explain because

it’s a really really amazing method take

a book that you have already read in

English or a book that you would like to

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reading alone will not help you with

your pronunciation English is a very

complicated language it’s not strictly

phonetic the way a word is written or

spelt doesn’t really give you much

indication as to how it is pronounced in

most cases but if you listen to a word

as you read it the next time you see

that word you will know exactly how it’s

pronounced and the next time you hear

that word you’ll know exactly how it’s

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as well I love to use it to motivate

other students right let’s get started

with the lesson this series of examples

is going to be delivered in the format

of a letter to the CEO of my company

because I’ve made a mistake and I have

to say sorry

so the first alternative way for saying

I’m sorry is I owe you an apology I owe

you an apology an example dear CEO I owe

you an apology for what happened at the

Christmas party

dear CEO I owe you an apology for what

happened at the Christmas party number

two is I take full responsibility for my

actions this one is really quite intense

it’s used in more formal situations like

if you’ve messed up at the workplace an

example I take full responsibility for

my actions I should never have let my

hair down and such an unprofessional way

I take full responsibility for my

actions I should never have let my hair

down in such an unprofessional way now

to let your hair down is to allow

yourself to behave more freely than

usual and enjoy yourself if you say I’m

going to let my hair down tonight it

means I’m going to really enjoy myself

tonight I’m not going to behave in my

usual way the next one is it was wrong

of me or it was wrong on my part

basically means it was my fault

an example I hadn’t actually planned to

attend I just stopped by on the way home

from the pub this was wrong on my part I

hadn’t actually planned to attend I just

stopped by on the way home from the pub

this was wrong on my part this was a bad

decision now number four

you can say I’m sorry but if you would

like to add just a little more emphasis

to emphasize how sorry you really are

you can add so or very or even both of

them how does that work well it’s so

very sorry an example I’m so very sorry

for telling the receptionist that she

looked like a marshmallow her pink

frilly dress was actually very cute I’m

so very sorry for telling the

receptionist that she looked like a

marshmallow her pink frilly dress was

actually very cute if that’s not enough

then you can use number five which is

I’m ever so sorry I’m ever so sorry and

this is a little posh actually an

example I’m ever so sorry for loudly

discussing how low our salaries are this

should have been discussed in private

I’m ever so sorry for loudly discussing

how low our salaries are this should

have been discussed in private now if

that still isn’t enough you can use

terribly or awfully I’m terribly sorry

or I’m awfully sorry an example I’m

awfully sorry for starting a very

successful conga whilst you were trying

to deliver your wonderful yearly

thank-you speech I’m awfully sorry for

starting a very successful conga whilst

you were trying to deliver your

wonderful yearly thank-you speech now

another option is to say that it was

thoughtless or careless of you it was

thoughtless of me

it was careless of me an example it was

completely thoughtless of me to shout

out hey lady this isn’t the Oscars get a

move on when I thought your speech had

gone on a little long it was completely

thoughtless of me to shout out hey lady

get a move on this isn’t the Oscars when

I thought your speech had gone on a

little long

now number eight we can use this one if

we’re trying to be a little more formal

and this is used very commonly in

written communication formal written

communication it is

I sincerely apologize I sincerely

apologize an example I sincerely

apologize for acting so despicably with

your husband I sincerely apologize for

acting so despicably with your husband

if you act despicably then you act

terribly now number nine the beg for

forgiveness I hope you can forgive me I

hope you can forgive me an example I

hope you can forgive me

for pulling your husband onto the dance

floor using his tie I hope you can

forgive me for pulling your husband onto

the dance floor using his tie number ten

if we want to use the passive voice and

make it a little less obvious who we’re

directing with that we can say I hope I

can be forgiven I hope I can be forgiven

an example I hope I can be forgiven for

dragging him onto the buffet table with

me I hope I can be forgiven for dragging

him onto the buffet table with me number

eleven if you want to express that your

your intentions weren’t bad you can say

I didn’t mean to I didn’t mean to an

example I didn’t mean to get sour cream

dip all over his trousers I didn’t mean

to get sour cream dip all over his

trousers or number twelve if you want to

express some regret you can use I

shouldn’t have I have got a lesson on

should have would have and could have or

should or woulda coulda as I like to

call it I’ll put that up in the card and

I’ll also link it down below because

it’s an important lesson especially when

you want to express regret an example I

really shouldn’t have tried to clean the

dip off there and then I really

shouldn’t have tried to clean the dip

off there and then important there and

then is a phrase that I think a lot of

you need to know because I do hear quite

a few students saying in that moment but

we don’t really use that so much we are

more likely to say there and then at

least in British English we use it to

talk about the past but it means

immediately I clean

his trousers immediately I cleaned his

trousers there and then in that moment

number thirteen if I shouldn’t have

isn’t enough then you can just say I

deeply regret I deeply regret this is

very profound an example I deeply regret

telling you to back off and find your

own man when you came over to help I

deeply regret telling you to back off

and find your own man when you came over

to help number 14 is I messed up I

messed up this means I made a huge

mistake

for example I really messed up when I

tried to start a fistfight with you I

really messed up when I tried to start a

fistfight with you number 15 is a

variation on what we had earlier it is I

was in the wrong coming from to be in

the wrong an example when I caught you

in a headlock I was in the wrong when I

caught you in a headlock I was in the

wrong important this is essential

vocabulary a headlock is when you hold

someone’s head by wrapping your arm

around their neck this is very important

vocabulary for you now number 16 when

you’re asking for forgiveness you can

say I really hope you can find it within

you I really hope you can find it within

you to forgive me or whatever an example

I really hope you can find it within you

to drop the assault charges against me I

really hope you can find it within you

to drop the assault charges against me

now to drop charges against someone is

to no longer officially accuse someone

of a crime it’s often used in the

passive voice the charges have been

dropped against him so you don’t know

exactly who has dropped the charges

and number 17 the phrase you should say

at the end of an apology it won’t happen

again

it won’t happen again an example I

really promise it won’t happen again so

can I have my job back I really hope it

won’t happen again so kind of have my

job back

you’re sincerely Lucy right that’s it

for today’s lesson I hope you enjoyed it

I hope you learned something I’ve given

you 17 wonderful alternatives for saying

I’m sorry in English and also some more

vocabulary along the way don’t forget to

check out audible you can claim your

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related to English I will see you soon

for another lesson

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