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LuciusD Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary
A phrase about "grief" and not "guilt".
Hi! I'm having trouble with the "I'm sorry" phrase. In the sentence, one person is trying to say that he feels sad when he knew about the death of a friend's mother. But if I say "I'm sorry", this wouldn't mean that he is apologizing for the death of the friend's mother? I need a phrase that say he is suffering about that, too, but not sorry for something he had no control about, and I really need to make this distinction because, by the circumstances, that could be misunderstood. Is there a way to say it in English, with few words, distinguishing those meanings?
Thanks for reading and have a good day!
Thanks for reading and have a good day!
Top answer
" Mary says, "I'm sorry''. Do you seriously think Tom is going to think that Mary in some way caused his mother' death? We commonly say "I'm sorry to hear that ".
- " Mary says, "I'm sorry''.
- Do you seriously think Tom is going to think that Mary in some way caused his mother' death?
- We commonly say "I'm sorry to hear that ".
- Clive
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4 Answers
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Hi,
Let's consider an example,
Tom says "My mother died yesterday."
Mary says, "I'm sorry''.
Do you seriously think Tom is going to think that Mary in some way caused his mother' death?
Let's consider an example,
Tom says "My mother died yesterday."
Mary says, "I'm sorry''.
Do you seriously think Tom is going to think that Mary in some way caused his mother' death?
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Hi, Clive! Thanks for your time.
Well, I said there were circumstances, so I will explain that example better.
The mother of Tom was killed by a cop by accident. Tom is blaming all cops in the world for it (cops are incompetent! - something like that) and another cop approaches and say I'm sorry (for your loss, not for the mistake I didn't commit and I don't agree with you
Well, I said there were circumstances, so I will explain that example better.
The mother of Tom was killed by a cop by accident. Tom is blaming all cops in the world for it (cops are incompetent! - something like that) and another cop approaches and say I'm sorry (for your loss, not for the mistake I didn't commit and I don't agree with you
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Hi,
'I'm sorry for your loss' is fine, and very commonly said.
We also say eg 'Please accept my condolences', but it is a bit more formal in tone.
Clive.
'I'm sorry for your loss' is fine, and very commonly said.
We also say eg 'Please accept my condolences', but it is a bit more formal in tone.
Clive.
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