Learning English – Lesson Ten (Saying Sorry)

You know the world of English is a fun and exciting place to be, I’m so glad you could join me for another lesson.

Wow, this is such as beautiful vase! How much did you say it’s worth? Ten thousand pounds. That’s a lot of money. And there’s only two of these left in the world? Yes. Well all I can say is I hope you take good care of it because the last thing you want to do is…drop it!

Hi everybody…this is Misterduncan in England!

How are you today? Are you OK? I hope so!

Are you happy? I hope so!

In this lesson, we will look at an action, which for many of us, is very hard to do…saying “Sorry”.

Sorry. Exclamation Mark. We all make mistakes and sometimes we say and do things that hurt or upset other people. More often than not, we end up feeling bad about these events and the emotion of Regret, takes over from our feeling of anger. We suddenly feel the need to say sorry for our actions and behavior. There are many ways of saying sorry…

• I’m terribly sorry for what I said to you.
• I deeply regret my actions yesterday.
• Please accept my sincerest apology.
• I’m so very sorry for what I did.
• I was in the wrong when I said those things to you.
• I did not mean to hurt you and now I regret it.
• It was wrong of me to behave that way and I’m sorry.
• Nothing I say or do will take that action away but now I want to make it up to you by apologising. I realise my mistake now and I’m sorry.
• I hope you can forgive me.
• I apologise wholeheartedly.
• I hope we can still be friends.
• I’m ever so sorry.
• That’s my bad.
• Oh, I’m sorry!

You can also say sorry as a way of showing sympathy towards another person. When you hear some bad news from them.

• I’m sorry to hear about your fathers death.
• I’m sorry to hear that you lost your job.
• I’m sorry to hear that you have been ill recently.
• Of course the person you are apologising to must accept your remorse and if they do they can say…
• That’s quite alright, I forgive you.
• There is no need to apologise, let’s forget it.
• I accept your apology, so do not worry.
• Yes I forgive you.
• Apology accepted.
• Hey! I’m sorry too.
• Ok, let’s just forget all about it.
• So we are friends again?
• Yes we should let bygones be bygones.
• Oh that is all water under the bridge now.
• Sure I forgive you, now come here and give me a…big hug!

When we say sorry…we offer our apology. We show our remorse. We  apologise profusely. We ask for forgiveness. We want to make amends.

• I’m sorry for eating your last banana, do you forgive me?
• Yes I forgive you.
• That’s nice.

Saying sorry to another person can be a very difficult thing to do. It can take us a long time to offer an apology, sometimes months or even years. We often resist saying sorry because in our own mind we feel that there is nothing to apologise for. Also there is the feeling of losing face or backing down, which can put us off apologising to someone indefinitely, thus preventing us from ever saying sorry to that person.

Is there anyone in your life who you would like to say sorry to? Did you recently have an argument with a friend or relative and did you say something to them that you now regret? Saying sorry can be the hardest thing in the world to do but once you have said it and it has been accepted. Then a huge weight will be lifted from your shoulders and your friendship will be saved. I suppose the big question must be, is it worth destroying a close relationship over a few badly chosen words? Surely the reply must be…’Of course not!’

Well another lesson has come to an end. Thank you for watching me teaching you! This is Misterduncan in England saying..forgive and forget before it’s too late and of course..ta-ta for now.