Situations when you might say sorry
1. When you feel sad about something that happened.
I feel so sorry for him, he's had such a hard life.
It's my fault - I didn't remember to take out the rubbish.
2. To apologise for a mistake or something you did wrong
Sorry I'm late, there was a lot of traffic.
I'm ever so sorry.
My apologies, for not letting you know earlier.
I apologise / I'd like to apologise for what I did last night.
I owe you an apology.
That was wrong of me.
I lost the pen you lent me. My mistake/bad, I'll get you another one.
Oops, I didn't see you there.
3. When you didn't hear properly
Sorry, could you say that again?
Excuse me, could you repeat that?
Pardon me, what was that?
I beg your pardon? - a bit formal
4. To say 'excuse me'
Sorry, could I get past?
5. To be polite when you don't agree with something
I'm sorry, but I don't agree with you.
I hate to say this, but I don't think that's right.
With the greatest of respect, I think you may be wrong there.
6. To interrupt
Sorry, but I need to clarify what you just said
7. To refuse somebody permission to do something
Sorry, you're not allowed to do that.
How to respond to sorry
It's ok.
That's all right.
Don't worry about it.
No problem.
It's not a big deal.
No biggie.
If you don't want to forgive the other person
I appreciate the apology, but I'm not ready to forgive you.