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!
And if you click on the link on the description box you will earn 100 free italki credits
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!