General English Level 5 GELEV5 Unit 04 Topic 03.doc  LANGUAGE FOCUS 05 Expressing regret and disappointment In this activity we will learn ways to say we are sorry for our actions in the past. Janis Steadman's lawyer says: My client, Janis Steadman, is truly sorry for what she has done. Janis Steadman's family have asked me to express their regret for her actions. They wish nobody had lost any money … Chris Reynolds is talking about Janis Steadman and her family's feelings about her crime. They are sorry. They regret her actions. They wish she had not committed the crime, but it is too late now. She has already committed the crime. Look We can use the following expressions when we want to apologise or express regret for something we have done or about something that has happened. I am sorry for hurting you. I am sorry (that) I hurt you. I regret hurting you. I regret that I hurt you. I regret not telling you sooner. I should never have stolen the money. I should have known better. I wish I hadn't stolen the money. I wish I had been honest. If only I hadn't stolen the money. (Note: The last three sentences are similar to third conditional structures, because they are about an imaginary event - something that did not happen. This is why they use the past perfect tense.) 136 QUESTLANGUAGE