"Sorry about/Sorry for"

Hello,

I've a doubt about the usage of the word "sorry".

Sorry about something.
Sorry for something.

What is the correct sentence?

Thanks,

Everson

[BobK]

I'm sorry for hurting you.

but

I'm sorry about John['s] hurting you/I'm sorry that John hurt you
(note - you wouldn't say I'm sorry about my hurting you). You could say I'm sorry about hurting you, but I think that version is probably less common; to my ear it puts some emotional distance between me['I'] and you; I'm sorry for hurting you shows real regret/remorse, and 'about' in that context implies 'but I had to and I'd do it again in the same circumstances' - it's a 'political' sort of regret.

Of course, there's another sort of 'sorry for', that isn't relevant to contexts with a gerund (such as the ones I've given): I'm sorry for you.

b

PS
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