Main Topic 2: Business Interactions Lesson 17: Giving an Apology/Explanation (20-25 minutes) Today, you will: 1. Learn useful vocabulary related to GIVING AN EXPLANATION/APOLOGY. 2. Review Singular and Plural Nouns I. VOCABULARY Exercise 1: What s the meaning? (5-6 minutes) A. Choose the meaning of the underlined words from the choices that follow. 1. Tell them that you regret your wrong actions, so that they will forgive you. a. change for b. correct for c. take back for d. feel sorry for 2. Hopefully, your mistake can be corrected without doing much damage. a. action b. deed c. error d. response 3. Feeling sorry is a good start to gain forgiveness. a. regretful b. wise c. intelligent d. alert Page 1
4. I object to the harsh punishment that you are suggesting. a. express sadness b. express agreement c. express approval d. express disagreement 5. She knew that she was wrong, so she kept silent. a. quiet b. noisy c. unhappy d. stubborn B. Sentence-Making Practice (3-4 minutes) Practice using these words in your own sentences. 1. Regret 2. Mistake 3. Sorry 4. Object 5. Silent Page 2
Exercise 2: What s the word? (4-5 minutes) Read the following dialog with your tutor and try to use context clues to fill in the blanks with the most appropriate word. You can find the missing word from the pool of words at the bottom. Ms. Sanchez mistyped a few figures in a report. She immediately goes to her supervisor, Ms. Delgado, to report and correct her mistake. Ms. Sanchez: Good morning, Ms. Delgado, I would like to take back the report that I left on your desk earlier. Ms. Delgado: Take it back? Could you please tell me why? Ms. Sanchez: I m afraid I typed in a few incorrect numbers. I only realized the mistake after I checked my own copy of the file. I offer my sincerest, Ms. Delgado. Ms. Delgado: Oh, I see. Well, at least you decided to your mistake immediately. Ms. Sanchez: I am really sorry Ms. Delgado. I assure you that I will not make the same mistake again. Ms. Delgado: It s alright. I understand. It s better that you said something rather than kept about the error. Just give me a corrected version before the day is done. Ms. Sanchez: I will. Thank you very much for understanding, Ma am. It won t happen again. Choices: a. silent b. listen c. admit d. apology Page 3
II. GRAMMAR REVIEW: Topic: Singular and Plural Nouns (5-6 minutes) Description: Nouns may be grouped into two types: singular and plural. A singular noun is used when it is referring to something that is only one in number. When a noun is referring to more than one in number, it becomes a plural noun. Examples: Singular apple husband wife knife goose Plural apples husbands wives knives geese Singular nouns go with SINGULAR VERBS. Plural nouns go with PLURAL VERBS. Examples: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Apples keep you healthy. Remember: Some nouns may have an s. This does not always mean that they are plural nouns. Some nouns look like they are plural, but are singular. Examples: Mathematics, Economics, Physics are all singular nouns. Comprehension Check: What verb would you use for the following nouns? husband (work/works) managers (compute/computes) students (study/studies) Page 4
Exercise 1: Incomplete Sentences (3-4 minutes) Choose the word that would best complete the following sentences. 1. Sincerity important in saying sorry. a. is b. are c. was d. were 2. forgives regretful students without punishment. (Specific) a. The teacher b. The teachers c. Teachers d. Teacher 3. They sent him a written apology. a. to gain his forgiveness b. to show that they were not wrong c. to tell him that they made no errors d. to show their thoughtfulness. Page 5