Sorry I'm Late

Marco: Hello English learners! Welcome back to another great lesson here at EnglishPod! My name is Marco.

Erika: And I’m Erica.

Marco: And today we are going to have a lesson that is going to be very useful when you arrive late.

Erika: Yes, well, we all have arrived late to something and we need a good way of saying sorry and saying why we were late.

Marco: So, today we’re not only gonna be looking at vocabulary used to explain why you are late, but also some typical excuses of why people are late.

Erika: Right, so, some normal reasons for saying why you’re late. Well, why don’t we get started with the dialogue? Now, we’re gonna hear five people in the dialogue, so, at the beginning we’ll hear the boss and the assistant and then we’ll hear three people who are arriving late.

Marco: Alright, so, well, good excuses, in general, except the last one. I don’t think that’s such a good excuse of why you’re late, right?

Erika: Yeah, I don’t really think if I was the boss, I would be very happy with this employee.

Marco: Yeah, I don’t think coffee is that important.

Erika: Hm, but some of the excuses were good and some of the language they used to describe the excuses was really great, so, let’s look at that now in… in “language takeaway”.

Voice: Language takeaway.

Marco: Alright, on language takeaway today we have four words that we’re gonna be looking at and, well, let’s get started with the first one. So, Jo called the office assistant and explained that she will be late, because she got tied up with a client.

Erika: To get tied up.

Marco: So, I got tied up with a client.

Erika: Alright, this is a really common reason for being late, but why don’t we listen to some examples to help us understand what it means.

Voice: Example one.

A: Sorry I’m late, honey. I got tied up at the office.

亲爱的，抱歉我迟到了。我在办公室被事情给耽搁了。

Voice: Example two.

B: I was tied up on the phone all afternoon and didn’t get any work done.

我整个下午都在接打电话脱不开身，什么正事都没干成。

Voice: Example three.

C: I got tied up in traffic on the way here.

我在来的路上遇上堵车，被困住了。

Marco: Alright, so, if you get tied up, it means that you get busy with something that you can’t avoid.

Erika: Right, you’re busy with something that’s so important, it’s like you are tied by a rope to that thing.

Marco: Okay, I got tied up.

Erika: Mmm.

Marco: I’m sorry I got tied up.

Erika: Yep.

Marco: Alright, now, the first person that arrived to the office, well, explained that there was a huge traffic jam on the highway.

Erika: A traffic jam.

Marco: A traffic jam.

Erika: A huge traffic jam.

Marco: Now, we understand traffic, right?

Erika: Uhu.

Marco: Cars, a lot of cars.

Erika: Yeah.

Marco: So, a jam, it means that it was like blocked.

Erika: It was stopped.

Marco: It was stopped.

Erika: Yep.

Marco: There were a lot of cars on the highway and they weren’t moving.

Erika: So, a huge traffic jam is a very, very big stopping of cars.

Marco: Now, our next word explains why sometimes there is a traffic jam.

The sound of a car accident.

Erika: Well, we found out that there was a huge pileup.

Marco: A pileup.

Erika: A huge pileup.

Marco: Okay, a huge pileup. Now, if a pileup is another way of saying an accident, right?

Erika: Yeah, an accident with many cars and they all get piled on top of each other.

Marco: Alright, so, many cars got into an accident.

Erika: Yeah.

Marco: So, this could be a reason of why there was a traffic jam.

Erika: Uhu, and also a reason for why you are late.

Marco: Oh, right, now, the other person Scott also called and he said that he’s running late.

Erika: He’s running late.

Marco: He’s running late.

Erika: I’m running late.

Marco: Now, if I’m running late, th… Am I actually running somewhere? What am I doing? What’s happening?

Erika: You are going to be late and you know you’re going to be late.

Marco: Okay, I know I’m going to be late… So, I’ll call you and I’ll say “Hey, I’m running a little bit late”.

Erika: Yeah, actually, this is the most common thing I say when I’m gonna be late. And I think it’s really important, uh, to know how to use this phrase, so, let’s hear some more examples.

Voice: Example one.

A: Jane is running late, she’ll be here in ten minutes.

简要晚一点到，她 10 分钟后到这里。

Voice: Example two.

B: Traffic is really bad, so I’m running late.

交通太糟糕了，所以我要迟到了。

Voice: Example three.

C: I’m running a bit late, so, please start without me.

我会稍微晚到一会儿，所以请不用等我，先开始吧。

Marco: Alright, perfect, so, running late – a very common way of explaining that you’re going to be late and, well, it makes you sound very native.

Erika: Yeah, it’s a great phrase. Now, our last phrase what we heard - the reason why Scott was running late was because his last meeting ran over.

Marco: Okay, to run over.

Erika: My meeting ran over.

Marco: Now, ran over, my meeting ran over, it means it went too far?

Erika: Well, when something runs over, it goes longer.

Marco: Okay, longer than expected.

Erika: Yeah, so, a meeting can run over or, um, an appointment can run over.

Marco: So, I can say “My meeting ran over fifteen minutes”.

Erika: Uhu.

Marco: I’m going to a little bit late.

Erika: That’s right, a great excuse.

Marco: Very good, five great words and, well, I think it’s time for us to listen to this dialogue and understand these words as they were used in the dialogue. And then we’ll come back and take a look at more phrases.

Erika: Okay, we’ve got some… some more great phrases for describing being late. Let’s look at them now in “fluency builder”.

Voice: Fluency builder.

Marco: When Jo called, she said she’d be there in a sec.

Erika: I’ll be here in a sec.

Marco: I’ll be there in a sec.

Erika: So, when someone will be here in a sec, it means they’ll be here very soon, right?

Marco: Okay, I’ll be here in a sec, I’ll be there in a sec.

Erika: But what about this word sec?

Marco: Uh, it’s a short way of saying “second”.

Erika: So, S-E-C.

Marco: A sec. Now, it’s an exaggeration obviously, because you won’t be there in… in one second, but you’re just explaining that you’ll be there very, very soon.

Erika: What about the difference between I’ll be here in a sec and I’ll be here in a minute?

Marco: Well, if you say “I’ll be there in a sec”, it means like “I’ll be there in one minute”, right?

Erika: Uhu.

Marco: But if you say “Oh, I’ll be there in a minute”, it could be a minute or more, like three or four or five minutes.

Erika: Yeah, I think that’s true.

Marco: Now, again, going back to this traffic issue, we saw that somebody was stuck in traffic.

Erika: To be stuck in traffic.

Marco: I got stuck in traffic.

Erika: Now, when you’re stuck in traffic, you can’t drive, because there’re too many cars stopped on a highway.

Marco: So, you are actually in the traffic jam.

Erika: Yeah, yeah, you’re stopped there for like twenty minutes, you can’t move.

Marco: Okay, I’m stuck in traffic, I… I’m going to be late.

Erika: Uhu, really great excuse! Um, and the reason they were stuck in traffic was because traffic was backed up for miles.

Marco: Okay, traffic is backed up for miles.

Erika: To be backed up for miles.

Marco: Now, if I say the traffic is backed up for miles, it means that it’s very long or how… how does that work?

Erika: Well, okay, imagine there is an accident.

Marco: Uhu.

Erika: And that has caused a traffic jam and the cars are lined up for… for many miles behind you.

Marco: Okay, so, it’s backed up. From that point there’re many miles of cars…

Erika: Uhu.

Marco: Waiting to pass.

Erika: Yep. So, it’s baked up for miles.

Marco: Very good, so, great phrases and I think it’s appropriate for us to listen to the dialogue for the very last time and then we’ll come back and talk a little bit more about this being on time issue.

Erika: Well, Marco, I know that ideas about time and ideas about being late are different in different countries.

Marco: Yeah, in different countries people treat time or being on time in different ways.

Erika: Yeah, like I’m from Canada and I look at being on time really different than you do, right?

Marco: Hehe. Yes, because, for example, if you call for a meeting at nine (9) o’clock.

Erika: Yeah.

Marco: Usually, people will be there at 9 o’clock, because the meeting will start.

Erika: In America.

Marco: Right, in America.

Erika: Uhu.

Marco: Now, for example, in Latin America we do have this, what we call sometimes the Latino time.

Erika: Okay.

Marco: Or Hispanic time.

Erika: Yeah.

Marco: Which is like nine o’clock is like… the time that everybody should be there, but until people get there, get their coffee and whatever, than it’ll be 9:15, maybe up to 9:30.

Erika: And I think it’s a little bit even more, um, noticeable when… when we’re talking about social events. Like if you go to someone’s house for… for dinner, in Canada if they say “Come to my house at six o’clock for dinner”, you’ll be there at six-oh-five (6:05), right?

Marco: Okay, yeah. Yeah, usually, you’ll be there only a couple of minutes, uh… after the time that was specified, just to, you know, give the house owner a little bit of time.

Erika: Yeah.

Marco: But if we have a dinner invitation for six, we know that it’s not really going to begin eating at six, so, people will get there at 6:30 or 7 and, of course, food isn’t ready until like maybe 8 or 9.

Erika: Hm, but I… but in German countries, from what I know, um, you’ve got to be there… if they say “Be there at six”, you’re there at six-zero-zero (6:00), right?

Marco: Hehe.

Erika: Not six-oh-one (6:01).

Marco: And also I think it’s about, um, when people start work, right?

Erika: Mm, yeah.

Marco: How on time you have to begin work. Sometime it’s acceptable to be ten or fifteen minutes so-called ‘late’, but in other places, you know…

Erika: Yeah, in North America, if… if you’re supposed to start work at nine, you have to be at your desk working at nine.

Marco: At… at nine.

Erika: Yeah.

Marco: Yeah, see that in… in… in other countries people get there at nine, get their coffee, maybe take a quick glance at their e-mails…

Erika: Yeah.

Marco: Or the newspaper and then, you know, start working at around 9:30 or 10.

Erika: So, I guess the important thing is to know, um, what the tradition is in the country where you are.

Marco: Exactly, so, come to our website englishpod.com and let us know how it works in your countries. I know that many different countries have a different way of treating time, so, share it with us.

Erika: Yes, and remember if you have any questions, please ask them at the website as well. We’re out of time today, but until next time, thanks for listening, and… Good bye!

Marco: Bye-bye!