what to say when wrong or made a mistake

Hello there :smiley:

Two people having a conversation about someone’s age. (Meg is thirty-five years old).

A : I think Meg is thirty years old.
B: No, she isn’t. I know for sure she is thirty-five.
A: ?

What would be the best line for A to admit he/she is wrong in this conversation.
Do you know any other expression you could think of ?

A1: Oh, I’m sorry.
A2. Whoops. I got it wrong.
A3. My mistake, sorry.
A4. Oh. I always thought Meg was thirty.
A5. I got it all the time wrong.

Thanks in advance,

mdenglish

Hi Mdenglish,

A1-A4 are all acceptable, but I’d personally never say “Oh, I’m sorry” in this situation, since that sounds a bit too severe and formal of an apology for such a minor error. If I were apologizing directly to Meg for getting her age wrong, then I might say “Oh, I’m sorry”. Usually people aren’t that upset if you think they’re younger than they really are, it’s the opposite that gets you in trouble. :slight_smile:

A5 could work if you said “I get that wrong all the time”, or “I always get that wrong”.

For a slang term in a very informal situation, I might also say “My bad” (- but only if talking to people my age or younger, as this is relatively current slang). I might also say things like “Oh, I stand corrected (then)”, or “(I) guess I was wrong/off/mistaken (then).”

If you wanted to express disbelief, you could say things like “Oh, really?”, “No way?”, “Are you kidding/serious?”, “Is she really?”, “Is that so/right?”.

“No way” is rather informal usage, as is “Are you kidding/serious?”.

There are of course profanities or oaths ranging from mild to extreme which a person could flavor their statement with also. That would depend upon the social context of the situation.

Hi,
Following Judge Judy’s suit, you can reply: that’s baloney, I don’t believe you
Or liar liar, pants on fire :slight_smile: