"Sorry for bothering you" vs. "sorry to bother you" [closed]

Right. "Sorry to bother you" is more idiomatic than its other variants. "I'm sorry to bother you" puts it unquestionably in the present. I would use "sorry ... EnglishLanguage&UsageStackExchangeisaquestionandanswersiteforlinguists,etymologists,andseriousEnglishlanguageenthusiasts.Itonlytakesaminutetosignup. Signuptojointhiscommunity Anybodycanaskaquestion Anybodycananswer Thebestanswersarevotedupandrisetothetop Home Public Questions Tags Users Unanswered Teams StackOverflowforTeams –Collaborateandshareknowledgewithaprivategroup. CreateafreeTeam WhatisTeams? Teams CreatefreeTeam Teams Q&Aforwork Connectandshareknowledgewithinasinglelocationthatisstructuredandeasytosearch. Learnmore "Sorryforbotheringyou"vs."sorrytobotheryou"[closed] AskQuestion Asked 7years,2monthsago Active 7years,2monthsago Viewed 608ktimes 12 6 Closed.Thisquestionisoff-topic.Itisnotcurrentlyacceptinganswers. Wanttoimprovethisquestion?Updatethequestionsoit'son-topicforEnglishLanguage&UsageStackExchange. Closed7yearsago. Improvethisquestion IsitgrammaticallyOKtouse"Sorryforbotheringyou"?Ioftenhear"Sorrytobotheryou". word-choicegrammaticalityto-forgerund-vs-infinitive Share Improvethisquestion Follow editedNov12'14at9:36 RegDwigнt♦ 94.9k3737goldbadges304304silverbadges396396bronzebadges askedNov11'14at22:41 bart-lebybart-leby 70933goldbadges1010silverbadges1515bronzebadges 5 Whydoyouthinkitmightnotbegrammaticallyokay? – curiousdannii Nov12'14at5:15 Couldyougiveusmoreinfoonwhythisisconfusing,orwhatyourthinkingis?Itwouldhelpustogiveyouahelpfulansweranduncoversomeinterestingaspectsofthequestion:) – Araucaria-Nothereanymore. Nov13'14at23:10 Theansweris:BothareOKandgrammatical.[Tip]IftheOPhadaskedwhybothmayormaynotbegrammatical,andexplainedwherehisconfusionlies,thenmaybethequestioncouldbereopen. – Mari-LouA Nov17'14at20:13 1 Yes–noquestionsareseldomgoodones.Notonlydotheystandvirtuallynochanceofhelpingfuturevisitorstothissite,ititimpossibletodiscernyourpointofconfusionhere,whatyourtheoriesareorwhatyouhaveconsideredandconsulted,orwhyyouhaveleftoutcertainobviouspermutationsandelaborationssuchasintroducingaperfectiveaspectbysaying“sorryforhavingbotheredyou”or“sorrytohavebotheredyou”. – tchrist ♦ Nov18'14at3:13 Related:Howtosay“I'msorryforsuchabother”Theanswerstheredemonstratethatbothformsareacceptable. – Mari-LouA Nov18'14at7:44 Addacomment  |  3Answers 3 Active Oldest Votes 11 Right."Sorrytobotheryou"ismoreidiomaticthanitsothervariants. "I'msorrytobotheryou"putsitunquestionablyinthepresent. Iwoulduse"sorrytobotheryou"atthebeginningofaconversationand"sorryforbotheringyou"attheendofaconversation. Havingsaidthat,thereareseveralotherpossibilities,suchas: "I'msorrytobesuchabother. "I'msorrytohavebotheredyou"....etc. Share Improvethisanswer Follow answeredNov12'14at13:08 MistiMisti 13.6k44goldbadges2828silverbadges6464bronzebadges Addacomment  |  1 "Sorryforbotheringyou"wouldrefertothepast.Youhaveaskedsomeoneaquestion,hehadtostopwhathewasdoing,andyouareapologizing. Withthequestionintheinfinitive,youareputtingsomeoneonnoticethatyouaregoingtomakesomekindofrequest/askaquestion... Share Improvethisanswer Follow answeredNov12'14at2:26 emeyremeyr 4933bronzebadges 1 Whydoyousaythatitonlyreferstothepast?Youcouldsay"Sorryforbotheringyou,butcanyouhelpmewiththis?" – curiousdannii Nov12'14at5:14 Addacomment  |  -1 Youwouldsay"Sorrytobotheryou"ifyouwereatsomeonesdoorstep,askingthemforacupofsugar. Youwould"Sorryforbotheringyou"ifyouhadbotheredtheminthepast,althoughpeopleusuallyuseeitherinasituationliketheabove. Share Improvethisanswer Follow answeredNov12'14at3:40 ArcaneArcane 111bronzebadge Addacomment  |  Nottheansweryou'relookingfor?Browseotherquestionstaggedword-choicegrammaticalityto-forgerund-vs-infinitiveoraskyourownquestion. FeaturedonMeta We’vemadechangestoourTermsofService&PrivacyPolicy-January2022 Newpostsummarydesignsongreatesthitsnow,everywhereelseeventually Linked 8 Howtosay"I'msorryforsuchabother" Related 8 IsitconsideredproperEnglishtosay"Youbestbe..."or"You'dbest..."? 1 Whyis"sorry"usedforbothapologyandsympathy? 1 sorrythatIdidsomething,sorryfordoingsomething,orsorrytohavedonesomething? 2 "Sorrytohavekeptyouwaiting"vs."sorryforhavingkeptyouwaiting" 1 'quotedtoyou'or'quotedforyou'? 2 Isthe"sorryto[infinitive]"structurealwaysgrammatical? 2 Wordforpreventingunnecessaryaction:“youdon'tneedtobother…” 18 "I'msorryfor"vs."I'msorryabout" 0 "Torun"vs."forrunningof" 0 I'msorryvsiamsorry HotNetworkQuestions Isthisaword? 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