DONT SAY SORRY Better English vocabulary How to Apologise
Hello! I’m Emma from mmmEnglish.
In today’s lesson, I’m going to share some different
and more meaningful ways to say
“Sorry!”
Now of course, it’s okay to say
“I’m sorry”, when you make a mistake or you
do something wrong, you can say “I’m sorry!”
But “sorry” is really overused in English.
It’s so overused that sometimes
it can seem a little meaningless.
You see, people use “sorry” all the time!
They apologise all the time for lots of different reasons.
“Sorry!”
“Sorry I’m late!”
“Sorry!”
“Sorry, I forgot to bring the….”
“Oh! Sorry!”
And because of that,
“I’m sorry” can feel a little less meaningful.
Sometimes it can feel like you don’t really care
or you’re just saying “sorry” because you feel like
you have to, not because you actually mean it.
So when you really need to say sorry
for something that you’ve done,
maybe a mistake that you’ve made or
some problem that you’ve created, well then,
it’s a good idea to use a stronger expression.
Okay? To show that you really mean it.
And today, I’m going to share
some more meaningful ways to say “I’m sorry”,
some meaningful ways to apologise.
Now, we’re going to give you a few different options
to help you build your vocabulary
so that your English sounds more
sophisticated and more meaningful.
But if you want to improve your English pronunciation
and natural expression,
then I really recommend the mmmEnglish
Imitation Lessons!
All of the lessons there are focused
on specific situations
and you’ll learn not just what to say,
but how to say it. And in English, it’s so important,
especially when you’re trying to be genuine and real,
it’s so important to change the tone of your voice
and your facial expressions and your body language
really helps to convey your message.
Now I created the mmmEnglish Imitation Lessons
especially for my students to help them
develop their pronunciation but also
their natural expression.
You’re going to be able to practise on your own at home,
you don’t need a teacher or a speaking partner
and you can practise your English speaking skills
in your own time, whenever it suits you.
So if you haven’t checked out the imitation lessons yet,
grab the link in the description
or you can head straight to the webpage right there!
So let’s focus on some different ways to say “I’m sorry”.
One of the hardest things about apologising
is admitting
that you’ve done something wrong.
Socially, it can be quite an awkward situation. Right?
It’s one that makes you feel a little uncomfortable.
Now, if we’re talking about a
small problem that you created,
perhaps you provided your
colleague with some wrong information.
It was an accident but still, you’re at fault.
Then it’s absolutely fine to say
“Ah…My mistake.”
Just own it, you know?
It was my mistake, I made the mistake.
So you can actually say “Oh.. My mistake”,
instead of saying “Sorry”
Now you can also say “My apologies”.
My apologies, I made a mistake.
But if you want to tone it down a little
and you want to make it a little less formal
then you can also say “My bad!”
This has become a really common expression
you use to admit that you did something wrong
in less formal situations.
“You’re late for the meeting! It started an hour ago!”
“Really? Oh, my bad! I didn’t have it in my calendar.”
So it’s like, “Oops! Oh, that was my fault.”
My mistake. You just own it, you know?
You don’t really need to say “Sorry” as well,
you’re just claiming the mistake as yours.
And these are all great options
if the problem you created is not a big one.
Like, if you were supposed to make a booking
for you and ten mates at a restaurant
and you forgot and when you get there,
there’s no room for you.
That’s a good time to say “Oh, my bad!”
Don’t use “My bad” when the mistake is pretty big, like
if you forgot to invite your grandma to your wedding,
Don’t say “Oh, my bad!
That wouldn’t go down very well!
It’s kind of a bigger problem than just “My bad”
So in that situation, you would need something
a little more meaningful, okay?
“Sorry!” Or “My bad” just isn’t quite enough.
So you could say,
“Grandma, I owe you an apology.”
I owe you an apology.
Or, “Grandma I want to apologise”.
Alright?
Both of these expressions
are used to show that you’re serious
and that you’re genuine about your apology.
They’re a little more formal so they
show respect to the person that you’re talking to
and they’re really useful in the workplace.
Okay? In the office, when you need, you know, to sound
professional and maybe a little bit more
formal, than these are great options.
The other thing to keep in mind is that
both of these expressions need an explanation.
Why are you sorry? You could say:
I want to apologise for something, right?
I want to apologise for my behaviour last night.
I want to apologise to someone okay.
I want to apologise to your sister.
Now, the difference between to and for here is
super important.
These little prepositions are a little tricky so,
for the grammar rules and more examples about
to and for, then I want you to check out this lesson
right here.
It’s all about to and for and when to use them.
But it’s important to explain why you’re apologising
with these expressions.
Alright, let’s think of a more significant problem
that maybe you created now.
You might need to write a formal apology,
you know, for your behavior or for
the behaviour of a family member.
Something that you really regret.
Or in a professional context, when
your mistake has resulted in a significant problem
for your customer or your company.
Well, in these situations you need more formal language
that’s going to help you to express just how
deeply sorry you are.
I sincerely apologise for my behaviour, for my actions
for the trouble that I’ve caused.
Okay?
You could also say, “I take full responsibility
for whatever’s happened.”
Okay,
now you might even take it one step further and say
“I’m embarrassed about what has happened” or
“I’m ashamed of my behaviour.”
Or my brother’s behaviour. I’m really embarrassed.
Now, it’s more common to see these expressions used
in written English, like in emails and letters,
but in professional or quite formal situations,
it’s acceptable to say these expressions
directly to someone.
Now don’t forget that these ways are,
they’re quite formal and they’re quite serious
ways to apologise.
So, if you’re a little bit late to class,
it’s probably a bit too much to say
“I sincerely apologise for being late.”
“I take full responsibility for my actions.”
But if you accidentally slept in and you missed
your final exam,
well, then this kind of language
might actually be useful for you.
You might be able to convince your professor
that it was an honest mistake
and maybe you can repeat the exam.
So I hope that you’ve learned some new expressions
and phrases during that lesson to help you sound
more sincere and more sophisticated
when you apologise in English.
Don’t forget that you can practise your natural English
expression and pronunciation with me
in the mmmEnglish Imitation Lessons.
The link is in the description below
and it’s really easy just to grab them and try them out.
Thanks for watching this lesson. I will definitely
see you in the next lesson.
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See you soon!