Apologies and Prepositions
2021-04-09
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1German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently caused protests with the call for a five-day lockdown over the Easter holiday to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
2She reacted to the opposition by apologizing to members of the German parliament:
3 "The mistake is my mistake alone. I ask both the public and you... for forgiveness. "
4In an apology, someone takes responsibility for making a mistake.
5Today, we will look at how we use the verb "apologize" with prepositions and gerunds.
6The most common sentence structure we find with the word "apologize" is: "apologize for (verb +ing)." For example, after an argument with a friend, you might say:
7I apologize for being angry last night. Will you forgive me?
8It is easy to change this sentence to talk about something you did not do by simply adding the word "not."
9I apologize for not coming to your party last weekend. My relatives came to visit.
10The -ing form of a verb is called a gerund.
11It acts like a noun.
12We can also use the word "apologize" before a noun, as in this sentence structure: "apologize for (noun)."
13Imagine you had to go into a meeting in progress. Then you would say,
14I apologize for the rude interruption.
15The third structure you will see with the word "apologize" is "apologize to (noun)."
16Parents often need to tell their young children to apologize to a friend after a fight.
17You should apologize to Sasha. You should not take her toys.
18Finally, we can use the word "apologize" alone.
19An internet company made a mistake and sent out this message to their customers:
20There has been an error on our part and we apologize.
21Sometimes people say they are sorry but we do not believe they really feel bad for saying or doing the wrong thing.
22Here is an example from a popular movie of an apology that may not be sincere.
23In the comedy film, A Fish Called Wanda, John Cleese plays Archie Leach, and Kevin Kline plays Otto.
24Otto becomes angry with Archie for saying Otto is crazy.
25As Otto holds Archie by his feet upside-down from a window, Archie must apologize.
26Otto: Now, apologize!
27Archie: What me, to you?
28Otto: Apologize.
29Archie: All right, all right, I apologize.
30Otto: You're really sorry.
31Archie: I'm really really sorry, I apologize unreservedly.
32Otto: You take it back.
33Archie: I do... and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future.
34Otto: OK
35Now, do you really believe Archie means what he is saying?
36I'm Jill Robbins.
1German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently caused protests with the call for a five-day lockdown over the Easter holiday to slow the spread of the coronavirus. 2She reacted to the opposition by apologizing to members of the German parliament: "The mistake is my mistake alone. I ask both the public and you... for forgiveness. " 3In an apology, someone takes responsibility for making a mistake. Today, we will look at how we use the verb "apologize" with prepositions and gerunds. 4Apologize for (verb +ing) 5The most common sentence structure we find with the word "apologize" is: "apologize for (verb +ing)." For example, after an argument with a friend, you might say: 6I apologize for being angry last night. Will you forgive me? 7It is easy to change this sentence to talk about something you did not do by simply adding the word "not." 8I apologize for not coming to your party last weekend. My relatives came to visit. 9Apologize for (noun) 10The -ing form of a verb is called a gerund. It acts like a noun. We can also use the word "apologize" before a noun, as in this sentence structure: "apologize for (noun)." 11Imagine you had to go into a meeting in progress. Then you would say, 12I apologize for the rude interruption. 13Apologize to (noun) 14The third structure you will see with the word "apologize" is "apologize to (noun)." Parents often need to tell their young children to apologize to a friend after a fight. 15You should apologize to Sasha. You should not take her toys. 16Apologize 17Finally, we can use the word "apologize" alone. An internet company made a mistake and sent out this message to their customers: 18There has been an error on our part and we apologize. 19Do you believe every apology? 20Sometimes people say they are sorry but we do not believe they really feel bad for saying or doing the wrong thing. Here is an example from a popular movie of an apology that may not be sincere. 21In the comedy film, A Fish Called Wanda, John Cleese plays Archie Leach, and Kevin Kline plays Otto. Otto becomes angry with Archie for saying Otto is crazy. As Otto holds Archie by his feet upside-down from a window, Archie must apologize. 22Otto: Now, apologize! 23Archie: What me, to you? 24Otto: Apologize. 25Archie: All right, all right, I apologize. 26Otto: You're really sorry. 27Archie: I'm really really sorry, I apologize unreservedly. 28Otto: You take it back. 29Archie: I do... and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future. 30Otto: OK 31Now, do you really believe Archie means what he is saying? 32I'm Jill Robbins. 33Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 34________________________________________________________________ 35Words in This Story 36lockdown - n. a state of restricted movement put in place as a security measure 37sincere - adj. having or showing true feelings that are expressed in an honest way 38rude - adj, not having or showing concern or respect for the rights and feelings of other people; not polite 39unreservedly - adv. in an unlimited way 40slander - n. the act of making a false spoken statement that causes people to have a bad opinion of someone 41Have you or someone you know had to apologize lately? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.