expression of sympathy
LIDA BAKER: "It's an expression
ugg classic tall of sympathy. And I think this is one of those little traps that people who are learning English can fall into, is not understanding that an expression like 'I'm sorry' can
ugg cardy have several different meanings. And of course, one of them, when you step on someone's foot, you say 'I'm sorry.' You apologize. But another meaning of 'I'm sorry' is an expression of sympathy; you feel
uggs boots sad because the other person has lost something or because something bad has happened to that person. So in that situation it's very appropriate to say 'I'm sorry.'"Death is such a
ugg classic cardy sensitive topic, not only in U.S. culture but in every culture, I think. Even the word itself is something that we're not comfortable saying. And so we tend to find
china honeymoon tours gentler ways of talking about this topic, so that if somebody has died, we'll say, for example, 'I'm sorry for your loss.' Or 'I heard about your father's passing and I'm so sorry.' Or we'll say 'My condolences.'"RS: "How do you go beyond that in the
china coach tours conversation?"LIDA BAKER: "Well, usually, if you say to somebody 'I'm so sorry for your loss,' the person might say 'Thank you.' But they might say nothing, and certainly the way I was brought up, when you're in the presence of someone who is
tour operators in china grieving, the best thing to do is say you're sorry, express your condolences and then be quiet."Let the person who's grieving determine what is going to happen next. If
ugg they feel like talking, then you go along with that. But if they feel like being silent, then you need to be comfortable with that as well. That's how my parents raised me."RS: "Now, to go beyond that in writing, how do you go
ugg on sale about doing that?"LIDA BAKER: "Well, I think in writing, if you're writing your own note, the same things that you would say are appropriate to write. So, 'We
ugg shoes send you our deepest sympathy.' Or 'I'm so sorry for your loss.' By the way, I want to say something about the word 'sympathy.' I've received sympathy cards from my students on my birthday. [Laughter]"AA: By the way, right after the interview, we got this e-mail from Lida: "Hi. I just got home and saw one of my neighbors who normally walks with two dogs. He was walking with just one, so I asked him what happened. He said the other dog died last week. So what did I say? 'I'm so sorry for your loss.' And he replied, 'Thank you for your condolences.'"