[General] A note of apology for a future absence

[Waawe]

Hi,

what is a common way to inform a teacher you won't be able to attend class tomorrow?

Can it be like: Dear Mr. Brown, I apologize for not attending class tomorrow as I am having an appointment at the doctor.

Is it grammatical and does it sound natural?

Thank you.

 

[GoesStation]

Try I'm sorry I won't be able to be in class tomorrow. I have a doctor's appointment. The continuous aspect doesn't work in the second part.

 

[Waawe]

Thank you for a prompt answer. I thought I could use the present continuous for future arrangements. This is not the case? Have an appointment in the example describes a state rather than an action?

 

[GoesStation]

Thank you for [STRIKE]a[/STRIKE] the prompt answer. I thought I could use the present continuous for future arrangements. Is this not the case? Does "have an appointment" in the example [STRIKE]describes[/STRIKE] describe a state rather than an action?

I'm not the right person to ask, but in this case I guess that's right.

Note the correct way to form questions.

 

[jutfrank]

I have an appointment. = present state

Think of appointment as referring to the state of there being an arrangement rather than the future meeting itself. You 'have' the appointment as soon as you've made it. What's happening tomorrow is the meeting, not the appointment.

I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow. = arranged future action

This is a good example of present continuous for arrangements.

 

[TheParser]

Dear Mr. Brown, I apologize for not attending class tomorrow as I am having an appointment at the doctor.

NOT A TEACHER


"Dear Mr. Brown, I will be absent tomorrow because of a doctor's appointment."

 

[Waawe]

NOT A TEACHER


"Dear Mr. Brown, I will be absent tomorrow because of a doctor's appointment."

I like it, thanks. However, there's no hint of apology, wouldn't stand before our teacher. We can't just inform her, we need to apologize first. :-D

 

[tedmc]

Is there a need to apologize for going to attend an appointment with a doctor?

There are three comma splices in your last post.

 

[Waawe]

Is there a need to apologize for going to attend an appointment with a doctor?

There are three comma splices in your last post.

You bet there is. At least in Czech schools. No idea what comma splice is, so I take it as a compliment. Thanks. Waawe

 

[GoesStation]

You bet there is. At least in Czech schools. I have no idea what a comma splice is, so I'll take [STRIKE]it[/STRIKE] that as a compliment.

I'm afraid not. Sorry!

You can read about comma splice errors here.

 

[Waawe]

Doesn't help much. Would you refer me to a source where I could study punctuation? I'm really lost in using them, I bitterly admit.

I am an ESL learner. When you point out there is a mistake in my post, which is highly likely and inevitable, it doesn't help much if you don't correct them. Just leads to the student's desperation and frustration. I know it from my school's teacher, which is a reason why I resorted to here for clarification.

 

[emsr2d2]

Unfortunately, that doesn't help much. Would you refer me to a source where I could study punctuation? I'm really [STRIKE]lost[/STRIKE] confused [STRIKE]in using[/STRIKE] about how to use [STRIKE]them[/STRIKE] it, I bitterly admit.

I am an ESL learner. When you point out that there is a mistake in my post, which is highly likely and inevitable, it doesn't help much if you don't correct [STRIKE]them[/STRIKE] it. It just leads to the student's desperation and frustration. I know [STRIKE]it[/STRIKE] this from my school's teacher, which is a reason [STRIKE]why[/STRIKE] that I resorted to coming here for clarification.

We are trying to help you. We can't teach you everything and we can't explain every tiny correction. You can find plenty of information about comma splices online, or you can read this forum's guide to them here.

The main points you can take from my corrections above are:
- "punctuation" is uncountable, so "them" was wrong and should have been "it".
- You can say "I'm lost" to mean "I'm confused/baffled" but we don't say "I'm lost in verb-ing".
- You used "a mistake" so following it with "them" was wrong. You needed a singular pronoun when referring back to "a mistake".
- Don't use "reason why". Use "reason that" or "reason for" as appropriate.

I'm not sure what you mean by "my school's teacher". I'm sure your school has more than one teacher. Do you mean that you know this from one of the teachers at the school you attend?

 

[Waawe]

We are trying to help you. We can't teach you everything and we can't explain every tiny correction. You can find plenty of information about comma splices online, or you can read this forum's guide to them here.

The main points you can take from my corrections above are:
- "punctuation" is uncountable, so "them" was wrong and should have been "it".
- You can say "I'm lost" to mean "I'm confused/baffled" but we don't say "I'm lost in verb-ing".
- You used "a mistake" so following it with "them" was wrong. You needed a singular pronoun when referring back to "a mistake".
- Don't use "reason why". Use "reason that" or "reason for" as appropriate.

I'm not sure what you mean by "my school's teacher". I'm sure your school has more than one teacher. Do you mean that you know this from one of the teachers at the school you attend?

������

The third sentence would have been enough. The rest was low blow and uncalled for.

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You don't need to apologize for your incoming absence in British schools? That would be a bummer over here if you didn't.

W

 

[GoesStation]

The third sentence would have been enough. The rest was a low blow and uncalled for.

It was not a "low blow", which is an unkind or unfair remark. We volunteers often give more or less detailed explanations of the corrections we make. We don't know which ones will be useful. We hope that you'll take advantage of the explanations to improve your English, which is the purpose of the site.

In that spirit, I'll point out that "low blow" is a countable noun phrase which requires an article in the above sentence. Mastering the use of articles is extremely difficult for learners whose native language doesn't use them, so please don't get frustrated if you continue to make mistakes with them. That's normal. We'll keep pointing them out, which is also normal on this site. It's meant to help, not to embarrass you.

I'm 100% certain that I'd make all kinds of blunders with inflections and cases if I tried to learn Czech. My pronunciation would be pretty good; I've been repeating various bits of Polish since I was a boy and my Polish-American mother always said I was the only one of her kids who could pronounce it properly. Czech being a sister language (which she could also speak reasonably well), I don't think I'd have a lot of trouble there. But grammar? Sorry, that's a huge challenge for an Anglophone. You're allowed to get some articles wrong. We'll keep pointing out when you do. Don't take it personally.

 

[emsr2d2]

������
The third sentence would have been enough. The rest was a low blow and uncalled for.
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[strike]You don't[/strike] Don't you need to apologize for your [strike]incoming[/strike] forthcoming absence in British schools? That would be a bummer over here if you didn't.

W

I have no idea which part(s) of my post you consider a "low blow". You said that GoesStation's post and link didn't help much. My first sentence indicates that we are, in fact, trying to help you. You said there was no point our pointing out your mistakes if we weren't going to correct them. We have been correcting them and I continued to do so in my post. I also, helpfully, explained why I had made those corrections.

Yes, a parent has to write a note or an email to a school when their child is going to be absent for the day. However, the point is that we don't apologise for it. Such a note would read something like this:

Dear [name of teacher/head teacher]

Damien Harris will be absent from school on [date] because he has a dental appointment.

Yours

[Name of parent]

With regard to the blue underlined word, I'm not sure you are clear on the meaning of "bummer". It means "a shame" or "a pity". Not apologising for being absent school doesn't fit with the word.