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Perfect Stranger Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

Correct or not no. 58: phrases expressing my apologies

Dear Users,

Are the following senteces/phrases correct and native-like?

1) Sorry/My appologies for the delay in responding to your message/e-mail.
2) Sorry/My appologies for the delay in replying to your message/e-mail.
3) Sorry/My appologies for the lack of timely response.
4) Sorry/My appologies for the failure to respond to your message in a timely manner.
5) My sincere appologies for taking too much time to reply/respond to your message/e-mail.
6) My sincere appologies for taking so much time to reply/respond to your message/e-mail.

Nothing else comes to my mind but I'm sure there's lots of other ways to express appologies in a elegant way.

Thank you
  

Top answer

apologies #3, 5, 6 are not acceptable nowadays; #4 is marginal. Use #1 or #2.

— Mister Micawber

  • apologies #3, 5, 6 are not acceptable nowadays; #4 is marginal.
  • Use #1 or #2.
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11 Answers
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apologies

#3, 5, 6 are not acceptable nowadays; #4 is marginal. Use #1 or #2.
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Mister Micawber#3, 5, 6 are not acceptable nowadays; #4 is marginal. Use #1 or #2.
Thank you.

By "not acceptable," do you mean, "old fashioned" or "out of use" ?

No. 5 and 6 are somewhat lenghty but how come this one is not acceptable?

Sorry for lack of a timely response.
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Maybe there are cultural or regional differences, but "My sincere apologies ..." seems fine to me. Obviously it is more elaborate wording than some of the alternatives. "... for taking too much / so much time ..." doesn't seem quite right in this context though.
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Perfect StrangerSorry for lack of a timely response.
It seems like an artificial construct to me, not something anyone would use.
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Thank you MM and GPY.
GPYMaybe there are cultural or regional differences, but "My sincere apologies ..." seems fine to me. Obviously it is more elaborate wording than some of the alternatives. "... for taking too much / so much time ..." doesn't seem quite right in this context though.
Hmm... What would be the best way to finish this sentence then? My sin
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Perfect StrangerOne more question. Are these two alright?1) Sorry for a prolonged silence on my side but...2) Sorry for a lengthy period of silence on my side but..
Again, they just seem like artificial constructs to me: grammatically correct but stilted and not likely to be used nowadays.
I am a terrible procrastinator with correspondence, and I am alw
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Mister Micawber"Sorry to be late in responding."
Thanks. This one looks like something I should memorize.
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Perfect StrangerHmm... What would be the best way to finish this sentence then? My sincere apologies...
For example:

My sincere apologies for taking so long to reply.
My sincere apologies for the delay in replying.

"My sincere apologies" is for formal use. You would not use it in a chatty note to your friend, for exampl
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GPYI would more likely say "Sorry for the lengthy period of silence ..." or "Sorry for the prolonged silence...". However, these are not, in my opinion, very suitable for business use or other general use. They seem to imply a close relationship, or to be emotionally invested, or something like that. They would need a particular circumstance.
Thanks GPY. Appre
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Perfect StrangerIs there a good way to express my apology for taking too long a time to reply in a slightly and yet not too formal way?
My apologies for not replying sooner.
My apologies for the delay in replying.
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