Perdone usted, (pero) no me di cuenta de que estaba ocupado.
I’m sorry, but I didn’t realize you were busy.Disculpa, (pero) no tuve tiempo de terminarlo.
I’m sorry, I didn’t have time to finish it.
Perdona, (pero) no podré venir mañana.
I’m sorry but I won’t be able to come tomorrow.Lo siento (mucho), (pero) perdí el tren.
I’m (very) sorry, but I missed the train.64.1.3 Perdone usted/perdona que+ subjunctive
Sentences such as ‘I’m sorry to bother you’, ‘I’m sorry to have bothered you’, may be
expressed in Spanish in two ways. The most common way is by using the verb
perdonar or disculpar, ‘to be sorry’, followed by que and a subjunctive: present
subjunctive, when reference is to the present or the future, and normally perfect
subjunctive when reference is to the past. An alternative and less frequent way, is to
use the construction in 64.1.4 below, with the verb sentir followed by an infinitive.
Here are some examples with the first construction. 16.1.1.3 (p. 61); 16.1.1.7 (p. 62)
Perdone/disculpe que lo moleste.
I’m sorry to bother you.Perdone/disculpe que lo haya molestado.
I’m sorry to have bothered you.
Perdona/disculpa que no pueda ayudarte.
I’m sorry I can’t help you.Perdona/disculpa que no te haya ayudado.
I’m sorry I didn’t help you.18.1.4 (p. 85)
64.1.4 Siento/sentí mucho+ infinitive
An apology related to the present or the future, as in ‘I’m sorry I can’t lend you the
money’, is expressed with the present of sentir, siento, followed by the infinitive,
usually preceded by poder, ‘to be able to’, ‘can’.
Siento (mucho) no poder prestarte el dinero.
I’m sorry I can’t lend you the money.Siento (mucho) no poder acompañarlo mañana.
I’m sorry I can’t accompany you tomorrow.
Sentimos (mucho) no estar allí contigo.
We’re sorry not to be there with you.To apologize about something related to the past, as in ‘I was sorry not to be able to call
you’, use the preterite of sentir, sentí, ‘I was sorry’, sentimos, ‘we were sorry’, followed
by the infinitive. Usage calls for the addition of mucho in this case.Apologizing 64.1