I am so sorry

[xxwzs]

Your words are really, really helpful. Thank you so much.
May I trouble you with another problem:
1. I am so sorry for being late. ("for" here as a preposition)
2. I am so sorry for my being late. ("for" here as a preposition)
3. I am so sorry for I am late. ("for" here as a conjunction)
Sir, do you think above-mentioned three sentences all work well? Or, there is a best one?

 

[BobK]

Re: "stand in my way" or "stand in the way of my"

The first is right; the 2nd is stilted; the third is wrong.

If you'd like further explanation, please start a new thread. (And in future always start a new thread for a new question. Thanks .)

b

 

[emsr2d2]

Re: "stand in my way" or "stand in the way of my"

I have moved these posts to a separate thread.

 

[emsr2d2]

Your words are really, really helpful. Thank you so much.
May I trouble you with another problem:

1. I am so sorry for being late. ("for" here as a preposition)
2. I am so sorry for my being late. ("for" here as a preposition)
3. I am so sorry for I am late. ("for" here as a conjunction)

[STRIKE]Sir,[/STRIKE] Do you think above-mentioned three sentences all work well? [STRIKE]Or, there is a best one?[/STRIKE] Is one of them better than all the others? Can you think of a better one?

3 would only work in a very old-fashioned piece where "for" means because.

"I am so sorry - for I am late".

Don't use it in modern English that way.

Note my corrections above in red. Please don't refer to everyone here as "Sir". It excludes all our female members.

 

[xxwzs]

Re: "stand in my way" or "stand in the way of my"

The first is right; the 2nd is stilted; the third is wrong.

If you'd like further explanation, please start a new thread. (And in future always start a new thread for a new question. Thanks .)

b

Thank you so much.
I got your suggestion.

 

[xxwzs]

3 would only work in a very old-fashioned piece where "for" means because.

"I am so sorry - for I am late".

Don't use it in modern English that way.

Note my corrections above in red. Please don't refer to everyone here as "Sir". It excludes all our female members.

Deep thanks to you and so sorry for my carelessness.
In China, students are often taught that "for" (as a conjunction) could be used like "because" to state the reasons.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Do you mean this definition http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/for_2 ?

Not a teacher.

 

[Tdol]

In China, students are often taught that "for" (as a conjunction) could be used like "because" to state the reasons.

It can, but it is dated.

 

[TheParser]

It is dated.

I always remember the following sentence as an example of the correct use of "for":

"When I arrived home, I realized that someone had broken in while I was gone, for the door was wide open."

Should I use "because" instead?


Thank you,


James

 

[emsr2d2]

I would use "because" there. As I said in a previous post and Tdol verified,"for" is dated.

 

[Matthew Wai]

If dictionaries do not state, how can learners know whether a usage is dated or not? Post a question here? I guess even the teachers in the OP's nation don't know that 'for' being used to mean 'because' is a dated usage.

Not a teacher.

 

[Tdol]

Dating takes place over time, so the best way to find out is to ask people who are up-to-date. Dictionaries, by their nature,will have a time lag. Using for with that meaning is not archaic yet- people will understand it, but it is something that is being used less and less. Posting a question somewhere like here may well be one good strategy.