Apologies-Excuses and Thanks

1. Apologies (= saying sorry)
   We can apologise (=say sorry) in different ways in different situations:
   (I'm) sorry, I beg your pardon (a general apology: interupt S.O)
   I'm very/terribly/so/awfully sorry. (a stronger apology: by mistake)
   I'm very/really sorry I'm late. (when you are late for an appointment)
   Sorry to keep you waiting. I won't be long. (= I will talk to you soon)

   I'd like to apologise for being late
   I'd like to apologise for the delay (unfortunately, ...)
   Please accept our apologies for the mistakes in your order. We tried to ...

2. Excuses and promises
We add an explanation or excuse after the apology. An excuse is the reason for the apology, which may or may not be true. Here are some common excuses:
   I'm sorry I'm late but I was delayed/help up at the airport.
   I'm sorry I'm late but my train was cancelled.
If you are responsible for a problem, you can offer or promise to do S.T about it.
   I'm sorry about the mess in here. I'll clear it up.
   I'm sorry about the confusion, but I'll sort it out. (I will solve the problem)

3. Reassuring people (adj-lam yen long)
When people apologise to us, it is very common to say S.T to reassure (cam ket) them that everything is OK.

That's OK. Don't worry
Never mind. It doesn't matter
That's OK. No problem.

4. Thanks
Thank you very much for inviting me. It's been a lovely evening.
Thank you very much for everything. You've been very kind.

Some example - What could you say in these situations:
You get on a bus at the same time as another person and he/she almost falls over.
_ I'm terribly sorry
You arrange to meet some friends in the centre of town but you are twenty minutes late.
_ I'm sorry I'm late but I missed the bus.
You are pushing your car into a side road and a stranger offers to help you.
_ Oh thank you. That's very kind of you.
A friend borrows a pen from you and than loses it. When they apologies, you want to reassure them.
Some English friends invite you to dinner. How could you thank them as you leave their house at the end of the evening?
_ Thank you for inviting me.
A colleague at work tells you that a number of files are in a mess: papers are all in the wrong order and he doesn't know what to do. When he apologises to you for this mess, how can you reassure him, and what offer can you make?
_ Never mind. Don't worry. I'll sort it out
You are unable to go to a meeting you arranged with a client at their office, and now you must write to them to explain.
_ I'd like to apologise for not comming to your office last week. Unfortunately, ...
Your company promised to send information about new products to a custormer last week. You still haven't sent the information and must now write to explain.
_ Please accept our apologies for the delay in sending the information we promised you. Unfortunately we had a fire at the factory last month, and ths has resulted in ...