spaceCenter for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA)
 
 
 
 
two women apologizing
 

Encountering the Communicative Act

Apologies

 

Complete the following activities to get more familiar with apologizing in Spanish.

A Late Arrival: Your Impression

Imagine yourself in the following situation while studying abroad in Spain.

apologizing boy

¿Por qué llegaste tan tarde?

You are supposed to meet a friend at 10:00 a.m. to work on a project. It is now 10:30 a.m. and you are just arriving. You missed the metro and got a little lost. This is the second time this week that you have arrived late.

How upset do you think your friend will be?

What do you think your conversation will be like in Spanish? How would you apologize to your friend?

 

A Late Arrival: Looking at Native Speakers

A similar situation happened to Iker. He is late to meet Gemma and finally arrives. Play the conversation between Gemma (sitting) and Iker (arriving). As you watch, think about how Iker apologizes and how it compares with what you did.


 

How does Iker's apology compare to yours? What are the similarities? Differences?

How many different language strategies does Iker use?

How does this compare to what you would do in English? How many different language strategies would you use in your English apology?

A Late Arrival: Applying What You Learned

 

Remember that this is just one example, but based on what you learned from Iker, how would you modify your initial apology?

 

 
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