Saying Sorry In English Level Up Your English Conversation
Hi I’m Oli. Welcome to Oxford Online English.
I’ve got a question: have you ever forgotten
your best friend’s birthday, or
been late for an important meeting?
Have you ever spilt coffee on a friend’s shirt?
What connects all these situations?
They’re all situations where you might need to
apologise. If so, what would you say? Of course,
to apologise, you can just say ‘I’m
sorry’, but there’s much more language
that native-level English speakers use
to apologise and express how they feel.
You’ll learn a wide range of language to apologise in this lesson.
This video is part of a series called ‘Level Up’
where you can expand your English conversation skills in everyday situations.
Don’t forget to check our other videos in our ‘Level Up’ series, too.
Another thing: Don’t forget to turn on subtitles if you need them.
This video has English subtitles. Click the ‘CC’ button on the video player to turn them on.
Are you ready for your class? Let’s begin!
I’m really annoyed! I came here specifically
to buy an oven dish that I saw online, but
then I was told you don’t sell them any more.
Yes, the supplier went out
of business, unfortunately.
I drove all the way from Linden to buy one!
Why is it on your website if you don’t have it?
I apologise for the inconvenience. It
happened very suddenly and we haven’t
had time to update our website yet.
Well, I’m not happy with this.
I do apologise. I know it must be
disappointing. Is there something else
I can help you with instead?
No thank you.
Saying ‘I apologise’ is a formal way of saying
sorry. You’ll most often hear it in a business
environment, at an office or to someone in
authority – like a boss, or a judge or a
police officer, someone like that. You may encounter different forms
of ‘I apologise’ – such as ‘I do apologise’,
or ‘Please accept my apologies’ or ‘my
sincerest apologies’. Words like ‘do’
and ‘sincerest’ add emphasis, showing the other
person that you feel bad about what happened.
These different forms of ‘I apologise’ are
often found in formal writing. Have you
ever received a letter of apology
from a business for bad service?
In English, those letters would often
start with something like: ‘We apologise …’
How else could you apologise in formal writing?
The letter from the college came!
That’s so exciting! What does it say?
Dunno, haven’t opened it yet.
Well, what are you waiting for?
Here goes…
Go on! What does it say?
Dear Miss Phillips, we regret to inform you…
Oh, no… I’m so sorry.
“We regret to inform you that your
application to was unsuccessful.”
I’m so sorry you didn’t get
in. I know how much you wanted it.
Well, we’re here now, so we might as well get an
What? Why?
There’s a sign: “We regret to
inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances
we will be closed until further notice.”
Communication from companies often use
the phrase ‘we regret to inform you that…’
‘We regret to inform you that you
were not selected for the interview’.
‘We regret to inform you that your insurance
policy does not cover such situations.’
But what about everyday conversations?
Perhaps you want to apologise to a friend
or a sibling or a neighbour?
Oooh! Ouch! look what you’ve done,
you’ve spilt hot coffee all over me!
Oh! I am so sorry!
This shirt is ruined!
Here, let me help…
I’m really sorry! That was so
clumsy of me! Please let me pay
for the shirt. It’s the least I can do.
Sometimes I don’t know where your head is.
I know, I really should pay more
attention to my surroundings.
The simplest way of apologising is to say,
‘I’m sorry’. It’s neutral language
which fits almost any situation.
However, if the incident is more serious,
you could add a word like
‘very’ or ‘really’ for emphasis.
You can also make an apology sound
stronger by emphasising the auxiliary verb.
For example, ‘I am sorry’ sounds
stronger than just ‘I’m sorry’.
I’m sorry, but I just don’t think your
son is ready to play on the team yet!
I don’t understand why you say that. He’s
been working so hard and he’s improved a lot.
He has, I can see that, but he’s
still the weakest pitcher on the team.
You should give him a chance. He may not be
great at the game but he’s very enthusiastic.
I’m sorry but that doesn’t make any sense at all.
We have a championship coming up.
Well, I’m sorry you see it that way…
You can see that ‘I’m sorry’ can be used in many
different useful ways depending on the context.
You can say ‘Sorry’ or ‘I’m sorry’ even in
situations where you haven’t done anything wrong!
You can use it to disagree politely. For example:
‘I’m sorry, but what you’re saying isn’t logical’.
You can use it to introduce something you
think the other person won’t want to hear;
for example: ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t think
James will qualify for the race this season’.
You can use it to express disappointment: ‘I’m
sorry you won’t be joining us this evening!’
You can even say ‘I’m sorry’ to express
sympathy when you hear sad news: ‘I’m sorry
you haven’t been feeling well’.
Oh no! Are you okay?
I’m okay… but, my car! It’s a complete
write-off! What am I going to do!
I am really sorry. It’s my
fault. I wasn’t paying attention.
How will I get to work? Oh, what a mess!
I’m really very sorry. I’ll sort it out.
Please give me your insurance details. I’ll
have the car towed. Can I call you a taxi?
You heard before that you can
use words like ‘really’ or ‘very’
together with ‘sorry’ to make your apology
stronger. However, as you heard here,
you can also use both words together for
extra emphasis: ‘I’m really very sorry.’
If you not only want to apologise, but
also take responsibility for something,
you can say ‘It’s my fault.’
Hi, excuse me, hello, I think you’re in my seat.
No, I don’t think so. This
is 23A. And it says so on my ticket.
May I have a look? Um, no… your
ticket says 28A. That’s over there.
I beg your pardon?
I said: your ticket says twenty eight A.
Oh, excuse me… my eyes and
ears aren’t what they use to be.
It’s quite alright. Do you
need help moving your things?
‘Excuse me’ is mostly used
to get someone’s attention,
as in ‘Excuse me, but can I ask you a question?’
However, you might also use it as
an apology in certain situations.
It’s quite old-fashioned and
formal when used in this way.
‘Excuse me’ can also mean ‘I’m sorry,
but I didn’t hear what you said’.
You heard another formal phrase in the
dialogue just now. Do you remember it?
You heard: ‘I beg your pardon’. This is a
formal way of apologising. It’s rarely used
in modern conversational English, but you might
hear it. Sometimes people use it ironically.
Hello, Derek, thanks so much for coming to see me.
Hello, Mrs Sanders.
As you may have guessed,
this is about the whole petty cash incident.
Go on…
Well, it seems we owe you an apology;
the thief was caught this morning.
That’s good to hear. I told
you I didn’t take the money.
Yes, you did, and I owe you a
sincere apology for accusing you.
Well, I appreciate the apology, but
I was really hurt by the accusation.
I know, I know. And for that, I
apologise and hope we can move past it.
You can use ‘I owe you an apology’ when you
realize that you’ve done something wrong
and you want to put it right. You can also say it
to other people if they’ve done something wrong.
For example, if your child
snatches a toy from another child
you could say: ‘Kelly, I think you
owe Neil an apology, don’t you?’
You can also use this phrase to
demand an apology from someone else,
by saying ‘I think you owe me an apology.’
We’ve now heard some words and phrases
you can use to say you are sorry.
But sometimes, people apologise without
actually using any of these words.
Why isn’t the environmental report on my desk yet?
The internet was down again.
I couldn’t do the research.
I’m so tired of this service provider. I
couldn’t even do my presentation yesterday.
This has been going on for weeks now.
We’re all falling behind on our work.
Oh well, what can you do? We’re all
so reliant on technology these days.
Apologies are sometimes given in an indirect
way, without using words such as ‘I am sorry’,
‘or ‘please accept my apology’. Instead,
people sometimes offer an explanation instead.
For example, in a city where public
transportation is unreliable, coming
late to a meeting and giving an explanation like,
‘The bus was late,’ might be perfectly acceptable.
In a city known for its heavy snowfall,
an explanation like ‘The snow was so heavy
this morning I couldn’t get my car out of
the driveway’ may be all you need to say.
Now, let’s see if you can take the language you’ve
learned today and apply it to a real situation.
I can’t believe you missed the meeting!
Could you respond? What did you say?
There are many possibilities. But
some are more appropriate than others.
Maybe you were tempted to say ‘I’m sorry!’ – but
is that really the best choice in this situation?
Let’s see how this may play out in the real world.
Molly: I can’t believe you missed the meeting!
The bus was late and the traffic on
Stevens Street was awful!
That’s hardly an excuse. You
should’ve made another plan. You know how
important this meeting is for the company.
I know. I apologise. I should’ve left home sooner.
You really let me down. I thought I
could rely on you.
You can! I sincerely
apologise. It won’t happen again. Maybe I
can phone Mr Beach to try and reschedule?
By saying ‘I apologise’ and adding the word
‘sincerely’, you have a better chance of
communicating just how much you regret missing
the meeting. You could say ‘it won’t happen
again’ to show your commitment to not making
the same mistake again. Adding an offer to
try and fix the situation may just show how much
you care, and smooth things over with the boss.
So, you’ve seen many different ways to apologise.
Why not put your new skills to the test right now?
Pause the video and try to complete the phrases.
Could you do it? Need more time? You can take
more time! Try to get as many answers as you can.
Let’s see the answers now.
How did you do? Did you get them all?
Being able to apologise effectively is
a skill that will be useful throughout your life.
I hope you enjoyed today’s
lesson. Thanks for watching!
See you soon!