[General] I don't mean to be late

[Silverobama]

Hi.

I was late for the date with my friend. She was excitedly angry, wanting to kill me. I said "Honey, keep your shirt on, please! I don't mean to be late". Is what I said natural?

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi.

I was late for [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] a date with my girlfriend. She was excitedly angry, wanting to kill me. I said "Honey, keep your shirt on, please! I don't mean to be late". Is what I said natural?

Say "I didn't mean to be late!"

The rest of it is OK, I suppose. Some people might find "keep your shirt on" (which isn't usually followed by "please") a bit old-fashioned. Some might suggest "Calm down" but others will find that patronising.

The most conciliatory thing you can say is "Sorry" and then perhaps explain why you were late. In this day and age, of course, you would have sent her a text/email/voicemail or actually phoned her to tell her you were running late.

 

[GoesStation]

You'd say I don't mean to be late if you were apologizing for habitual behavior. In this case, you're apologizing for one instance of the behavior.