What is apologizing?
Apologizing is to tell someone that you are sorry for having done something that might have caused displeasure and embarrassment to him. In other words, apologizing is expressing your regret you may have done and which you think is unacceptable.
To keep your relationships with others warm, never hesitate to apologize, in that, by doing so, you show to them that you are really concerned about them, and you care for the well-being of their state of mind. Some people think that apologizing threatens their own self-image, but this is not true. Instead, it reduces emotional pain and stress that might have been caused by such inappropriate words or wrong deeds.
Yet, apologizing cannot do the job considerably well if don’t know how to apologize. Rather, it may make things worse and damage your relationship instead of repairing it.
For your apologies to be fruitful enough, they must be sincere and communicate real empathy and regret. Besides, you should use appropriate ways and expressions of apologizing to make sure the listener will accept your apology. Otherwise, he will decline it.
How to express, accept and decline apologies
The table below contains the most important expressions/ ways of apologizing, in addition to how to accept and decline apologies. Try to memorize as many of these expressions as you
can so as to be able to use them in situations appropriately.
| Apologizing | Accepting apologies | Declining/refusing apologies |
| – I (do) apologize. | – It’s O.K. | – I am not satisfied with the way you speak. |
| – Sorry about that. | – Never mind! | – That is inexcusable. |
| – I am very sorry. | – It’s not important. | – Sorry to say that what you say is not convincing. |
| – Excuse me… | – Don’t worry about that | – Do you think this is excusable? |
| – Pardon me… | – No worries. | – This is not enough. |
| – I am sorry for… | – No problem. | – What you did is unforgettable |
| – I regret the hurt I caused you. | – Forget about it. | – The situation is not as easy as you may think. |
| – Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? | – It doesn’t matter. | – It is difficult to repair the hurt you caused me. |
| – Sorry for …. | – That’s all right. | – It’s so difficult to restore things to normal. |
| – Please, forgive me for … | – Don’t mention it. | – I will never forget the damage you caused me. |
| – It is all my fault. I shouldn’t have done that. | – I quite understand. | – It’s so hard to accept your apology. |
| – I am really ashamed of what I did. | – No harm done. | – I’d like to accept your apology, but… |
Practice
A/ Express your apology for the following complaints
- Sorry to bother you, but your children are so noisy.
- I am sorry to tell you that there is a problem with the service in this hotel.
- I am afraid to announce my complaint about the way you treat me.
- Excuse me, but you mustn’t smoke here.
- I am sorry to say it, but your T.V is set at a loud voice.
- Excuse me. There seems to be a problem with the quality of this product.
- Sorry to say it, but you have put your heavy bag on my foot.
- I don’t want to trouble you, but the meat you offered me is too salty.
- Excuse me. But I have a complaint to make. You have parked your car in front of my door.
- I feel so deceived because the phone you sold me is very slow.
B/ Respond to the following apologies (accept or decline apologies)
- I do apologize. I will tell my children not to speak loudly.
- I am sorry sir. But this is not a public place.
- Pardon me, madam. I don’t mean to hurt you. This is my natural way of treating people.
- Excuse sir. But this is the product you chose and paid for. If you want a better product, you have to pay 10 dollars more.
- I regret the disturbance I caused you. I will reduce its volume.
- Please, forgive me for that. I didn’t see your foot.
- We are very sorry. Anything you are not satisfied with within this hotel can be fixed the way you want.
- Sorry about that. We can change your meat if you want.
- Sorry, it’s my fault. I will move my car away from your house.
- I am afraid sir, just restart the phone and it will become speedy.
