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I hope you all can forgive me. My behavior was completely out of line. I brought some chocolates to show that I'm sorry.

Is it natural to say "to show that I'm sorry."? And could it be said in this context? Something about it sounds wrong to me, but I might be wrong.

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    I think "to say (that) I am sorry" is more common. Gngram agrees.
    – fev
    Commented Jan 22, 2021 at 16:58
  • I brought some chocolate to make (it) up to you, guys! I am really sorry!
    – Andrew
    Commented Jan 22, 2021 at 17:05
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    There's nothing wrong with your example although the past tense brought is awkward.. You might puzzle slightly because of the several tense changes from past behaviour to present repentance, leading into your peace offering. Your third sentence would read more naturally with have brought or am bringing Commented Jan 22, 2021 at 23:22

1 Answer 1

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If you should use 'show' I would say:

I brought some chocolates to you guys to show my wish to apologize.

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    That is much wordier and doesn't improve the sentence at all, and in fact it sounds much more awkward to me. Also, adding "you guys" at a minimum assumes you are talking to multiple people, which was not stated in the original question, and some people also consider that phrase to be sexist. Also, because your phrasing rhymes, some people might think you were joking.
    – SegNerd
    Commented Oct 2, 2021 at 15:02

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