I have been listening to this song a lot lately. Well, in this post,  we are not gonna talk about the song. Instead, we will give you tips on how to apologize in English.

There are some expressions you can use to apologize. We are going to give you some of them.

1. Sorry. It is a very common, simple apology and there are several situations we can use it in.
   • Example:
     • when we bump into someone on the street (“Sorry”).
     • Or when we are sympathising with someone (“I’m sorry to hear that”).
2. I’m so/very/extremely/terribly sorry. This is similar to ‘sorry’ but adding an extra word makes the meaning stronger.
   • Example:
     • “I am terribly sorry for forgetting you birthday yesterday.”
3. I apologize for/ I’d like to apologize for. This is a more formal way of saying sorry.
   • Example:
     • “I apologise for not replying your email sooner.”
4. Please accept my (sincere) apologies. This is a very formal way of apologizing, especially when the word ‘sincere’ is included.
   • Example:
     • “Please accept my sincere apologies for the misunderstanding. We will correct the mistakes.”
5. How careless of me! This phrase is used when we criticize ourselves for making a mistake.
   • Example:
     • “I just scratched your car, how careless of me! I’ll take it to a garage.”

Compiled and written by @FaridArdian for @EnglishTips4U on Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Related post(s):

• #EngTips: Making apologies
• #EngTips: ‘pardon,’ ‘sorry,’ and ‘excuse me’
• #IOTW: Sorry
• #EngTips: Receiving apologies
• #EngQuote: Forgiveness

^MD