How to say SORRY and APOLOGISE in English | British English

Now we've all done things we regret

I, for one, once called my male maths teacher 'Mummy'

So I regret that

But sometimes when we do things we regret we need to say sorry

And this video is going to be all about Britain's favourite word

the word 'sorry'

So anyone that's been to England before will know that the English just love saying sorry

we say it when it's not necessary, we say it when it is necessary

but it's part of our culture and it's what we consider to be polite!

So this lesson is going to tell you about the many ways in which you can say sorry

And then also different situations in which you should say sorry

And we'll talk about some slang ways that you can say sorry

And then what to do if words just aren't enough

Before we get started I'd just like to remind you that if you want to really practice your English then you should sign up to italki

Which is a fabulous website that puts you in contact with professional, qualified, native teachers

of all the languages really but especially for English on this channel!

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as soon as you make your first purchase

so that's basically a buy on get on free on the lessons

so make sure you check that out

Ok, back to the class!

Ok, so, how to apologise in English

Part one of this video

Well, the most basic way is...sorry

so sorry is good if you're in a hurry

if you bump into someone on the street

or if you step on someone's shoe

you can just say 'oh sorry', 'sorry'

So, if you want to say a little more than that you can say 'I'm sorry'

And if you want to go even further you can put an interesting word in between the 'I'm' and the 'sorry'

like 'so', 'incredibly', 'terribly', 'really'

Oh I'm terribly sorry, Oh I'm so sorry

Then, if you actually want someone to forgive you, you can say 'please forgive me'

or forgive me for asking but...

But don't overuse it cos it will sound like you're a bit pathetic

'forgive me forgive me'

Then we've got 'excuse me'

Now this can be used in a variety of situations

If you need to get past and somebody is blocking your way

you can say 'Oh excuse me, can I just get through?'

excuse me, excuse me, excuse me...

You can also say it when your body lets out some gas

Oh! excuse me!

And also you can use it to get attention

So 'excuse me everyone, excuse me, can you listen to me now?'

So sometimes I'll use that in my classes

another that means exactly the same as 'excuse me' but with an additional meaning

is pardon me

Pardon me we can use in the same way as excuse me

but also if we want to interrupt a conversation

So 'Oh, pardon me but can I just butt in here?

If you've really done something quite bad or you've really messed up

Then you might want to say something a bit stronger

than sorry so you can say 'I owe you an apology'

I'd like to apologise

and 'apologise' is much stronger and we often use it in written emails

If you want to send a letter to your boss apologising for your behaviour

Then you can say 'I sincerely apologise for what happened yesterday'

Or..'I take full responsibility for my behaviour'

Let's move on to part 2, which is about how to say sorry for being late

because being late is very very rude

In some cultures it's accepted, in England it's not

The most basic one is 'Sorry I'm late'

You can also say 'sorry for being late'

Or my personal favourite 'sorry for keeping you waiting'

sorry for keeping you waiting

That one's quite nice

Ok, on to part 3: slang words for sorry

Now if I were you I would only use these with friends, ok? Not in a work or professional situation

the first one is 'whoops!'

Ok so maybe you've dropped someone's phone and you go 'Oh, whoops!'

Another one you can say is 'Oh, my bad!'

that's another way of saying 'Whoops, sorry'

And the last one which is a terrible word that you shouldn't use

this comes from the texting culture

Soz

Ok, and soz is a word that normally you will see in text messages

I don't think people actually say that..actually they might

(don't say that!)

Ok part 4: bad news

Ok so maybe someone's pet's died, maybe someone's lost a family member

or maybe someone didn't get a job or something

So in this case you can say 'I'm so sorry to hear that'

You wouldn't just want to say 'Aaah...sorry...'

No..I'm so sorry to hear that or 'I'm so sorry to hear that you didn't get the job'

or 'I'm so sorry to hear about your dog'

If someone has died you can say 'I'm sorry for your loss'

ok...that's a very normal thing to say at funerals

So whilst you're saying sorry, your body language is very important

If you realise you've done something wrong

Maybe open your eyes wide and put your hand over your mouth

like 'ah! sorry'...like this

It's very important to maintain eye contact so that you look sincere

Like you really mean what you're saying

If you want to make your apology look even more sincere

Then whilst you're saying it you can put your hand on your heart

I'm honestly so sorry for what I did yesterday.

And that's just a way of showing that you are honestly apologising for what you did

Finally, what can you do if just are just not enough

Ok, if you've done something so terrible or you've messed up so badly

that sorry doesn't cut it

Well the most common way to say sorry without saying the word 'sorry'

in England is to give flowers

to give a bottle of wine

or to give a handwritten card

Ok well that is it for my lesson on how to apologise in English

If you ever come to England make sure that you've got these words mastered

and all of the correct body language

and let's hope that you guys never have to say sorry to me

Make sure that you connect with me on all of my social media

And I'll see you all for another lesson very very soon! Mwah!