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Uthman Posted 19 years ago
Vocabulary

sorry vs. afraid

Hi all!
Can "sorry & afraid" be used interchangabley?
fro example:
I'm afraid you're wrong.
Thank you very much!
  

Top answer

They are often similar in meaning: I'm sorry, but I cannot attend the meeting. I'm afraid I cannot attend the meeting. I'm afraid you're wrong.

— Mister Micawber

  • They are often similar in meaning: I'm sorry, but I cannot attend the meeting.
  • I'm afraid I cannot attend the meeting.
  • I'm afraid you're wrong.
  • I'm sorry, but you're wrong.
  • But they are often not interchangeable: He was sorry that he could not attend (= he apologized for not attending) He was afraid that he could not attend (= he might not have been able to attend)
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2 Answers
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They are often similar in meaning:

I'm sorry, but I cannot attend the meeting.
I'm afraid I cannot attend the meeting.

I'm afraid you're wrong.
I'm sorry, but you're wrong.

But they are often not interchangeable:

He was sorry that he could not attend (= he apologized for not attending)
He was afraid that he could not attend (= he
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Even in this particular usage, they really can't be interchanged.

I'm afraid you're mistaken - A polite way to say "You're wrong."

I'm sorry to say, it appears you're mistaken - or I'm sorry, but I believe you're mistaken.

If you say "I'm sorry you're wrong" it makes it sound like what you regret is their incorrect answer/statement, which doesn't really work very well.
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