Instructor Blog #6: I do apologize for this grammar lesson...

If you have ever been on the phone with a customer service representative, you are probably familiar with this kind of apology: “I do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

Having worked as a customer service representative at a software company for five years, I can proudly say that I avoided this kind of language when dealing with angry customers. I think it sounds phony-baloney, as if the representative is reading from a script. In many cases, they are. So what’s wrong with this language and how can YOU avoid it in the Corporate Communication Project?

”I do apologize”

Saying “I do apologize” is different than saying “I apologize” because the word “do” changes the nature of the verb “apologize”. All “I do apologize” means is “(On occasion) I do apologize.” It is stronger to say “I apologize” than “I do apologize.”

”for any inconvenience”

The word “any” is the culprit here. The word is vague and makes the ‘inconvenience’ abstract. Typically, there is a specific, concrete ‘inconvenience,’ so inserting the word “any” is likely to have an insulting effect on the customer.

”this may have caused”

The phrase “may have” is to blame here because, as in the other examples, it changes the nature of the verb “caused.” The user of the phrase “may have” is sidestepping their responsibility, as “may have” implies that the inconvenience may not have been caused by whatever “this” is. Once again, this is going to insult the customer because it diminishes their inconvenience.

All of the words and phrases above, “I do apologize,” “any inconvenience” and “may have caused” help to construct a weak apology because they bring special conditions to the apology. It is stronger to say “I apologize for the inconvenience that this caused” because it is an unconditional apology.

If you want to make your writing stronger, isolating and eliminating these kinds of words and phrases is a great strategy.

The Grammar Lesson

The following verbs are called modal verbs (beware: this video is boring but informative) because they indicate probability or possibility: can, could, should, will, would, shall, may, might, must. All of these words suggest a conditional situation: "You must be kidding." "Motorcycles can be dangerous." "Weak writing could be bad for ethos."

The verb “to seem” also has this effect, though it is not a modal verb. Saying “English 420Y seems like a valuable class” is not as strong as saying “English 420Y is a valuable class.”

The "Cntrl+F" Method: Catch Your Errors

Okay, so now you have isolated the problem, so how do you go about eliminating it? How do you even know that this is a writing habit of yours? It can be very difficult to analyze your own writing habits. Luckily, there’s an easy way to find troublesome words and phrases in your writing:

In MS Word, hit “Cntrl+F” and it will bring up the “Find and Replace” function. Type in the word “seem,” for example, and the computer will show you every time you used the word! Then all you have to do is look at the sentence and figure out if you can re-write the sentence to make it stronger.

This “Cntrl+F” technique is something that I have taught for years, but students typically don’t like doing it. The most likely reason for this is that the “Cntrl+F” method is tedious and utterly boring. However, it is such an easy way to cause a massive improvement with minimal effort that I at least tell my students about it every semester. You can also use the “Cntrl+F” method to catch words that you know that you use but wish you didn’t, such as “definitely,” “actually,” “truly,” “a lot,” “very,” and other troublesome words. You can type in “n’t” and catch contractions in your writing. Since catching your own mistakes can be difficult, this is a great way to analyze your own writing.

I hope this helps!

Remember – excellence is all about the details.