Respond to situation — apologising

Every situation on this page asks you to apologise and put something right. Respond politely and clearly. Include:

1) A clear apology at the start — say sorry and name what you are apologising for.
2) A brief explanation of what happened, without making excuses.
3) Responsibility and a fix — what you will do to put it right, and by when.
4) A polite closing — reassurance it will not happen again, or thanks for their understanding.

How to practise

Press Start. The situation is read aloud once by the built-in voice — no audio files needed. After it finishes, you have 10 seconds to get ready — then a beep signals your 40-second response window. Use speech-to-text or type your answer. Press Repeat prompt to redo the same situation, or Next to move on. Pick the voice and speed under Listening settings.

Situation: 1 / 6

Situation

Listen to the prompt, then respond using the structure above.

Press Start to hear the situation.

00:00

Your answer

Type here, or use the microphone button for speech-to-text (Chrome / Edge).

Self-check

After responding, tick each element you included.

Did your apology cover all four required elements?

✓

Clear apologyDid you say sorry early, and name exactly what you are apologising for?

✓

Brief explanationDid you explain what happened in a sentence or two, without piling up excuses?

✓

Responsibility and a fixDid you take responsibility and offer a specific way to put it right, with a timeframe?

✓

Polite closingDid you close well — reassurance it won't happen again, or thanks for their understanding?

0 / 4

Useful language for apologising

Sincere and specific — the tone examiners expect.

Saying sorry

I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday.
I want to apologise for missing the deadline.
I owe you an apology, and I won't make excuses.
I'm very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.

Explaining briefly

What happened was that I misread the schedule.
I'd written the wrong date in my calendar.
There was a mix-up with the files on my end.
That's an explanation, not an excuse.

Taking responsibility

It was my mistake, and I take full responsibility.
I should have checked before sending it.
To put it right, I'll … by Friday.
I've already started fixing it.

Reassuring and closing

I'll set a reminder so it doesn't happen again.
Please let me know if there's anything else I can do.
Thanks for being so understanding about it.
I really appreciate your patience.

Template

Use as a starting point if you get stuck.

Shortcut: Ctrl + Enter inserts the template.