How to express regret in English?

You can talk about the past events you feel sorry about using the verb regret and one of four possible options after it:

• regret+ noun

• regret + (not) + gerundNo definition set for gerundLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. (verb + -ing)

• regret + that clause (in past simple)

• regret + noun clause

  What's a noun clause?

  A noun clause usually starts with a word like what or how, and it represents a noun. To learn more, check out this discussion of noun clauses in English!

For example, if you yelled at your son for breaking a new toy and then realized it was wrong and unkind, you can express that regret in one of these ways:

• noun phrase

  I regret my unkind words.

• gerund

  I regret yelling at my child.

• 'that' clause

  I regret that I yelled at my son.

• noun clause

  I regret what I said, it was unkind.

• noun phrase

  We regret our purchase.

• gerund

  We regret buying an old car.

• 'that' clause

  We regret that we bought a used car.

• noun clause

  We regret what we bought.

You can use phrases with regret to talk about other people’s regrets or past regrets and to formally apologize:

• ✅ My brother regrets dropping out of school.

• ✅ Later John regretted how he had spent the money he had won.

• ✅ I deeply regret my actions. I won’t do that again.

In English, we mostly use the phrase I’m sorry before a clauseNo definition set for clauseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. to directly apologize for an action. This clause is usually in the past simple! For example:

• I’m sorry that I said those things to you.

• I’m sorry I hurt you.

• I’m sorry I wasn’t very nice.

You can also apologize by using I’m sorry before for + gerund (verb + -ing):

However, we do not always use I’m sorry to apologize.

• You can use I’m sorry + clause to express that you are unhappy that you made a mistake:

  Yeah, now I’m really sorry that I bought that car!

• You can use I’m sorry + clause to express sympathy for someone else’s misfortune:

  I’m so sorry that your cat died.

The phrase should (not) have is commonly used before a past participle (usually verb + -ed) to talk about regrets and to apologize for past actions. In this meaning, it comes in the structure:

For example, if you decided to drive rather than fly to the capital and the road trip exhausted you completely, you’d probably think:

Remember the situations described above? Now you can also say:

past participle

I shouldn’t have said those things.

We should have bought a new car.

Check out our post on English modal auxiliaries to learn about other uses of the word should.

One more way to express regret is to use:

So you can say, for example:

past participle

I wish I hadn't said those things.

We really wish we had bought a new car.

You can also use other subjects with wish when you are sure they regret their past actions:

Also, you can use wished for regrets you had in the past:

You can also talk about your regrets using the structure:

In many ways, this expression is similar to I wish, but it is usually stronger and more emotional. If only is not normally used to apologize, but rather to express bitterness and disappointment you feel about your past actions. Often it is for a situation that now can never be fixed.

Here are some examples:

past participle

If only I hadn't said those things! Will you ever forgive me?

If only we had bought a new car instead of a used car! Then we wouldn't be in this situation!

Third conditional sentences can also be used to express regret and to imagine how your past could be different. The typical sentence structure is:

For example:

past participle

If I hadn’t said those unkind words, I would not have hurt my son’s feelings so badly.

If we had bought a new car, it probably would not have broken down.

Another structure for the third conditional, which does not use if, looks like this:

For example:

past participle

Had I not said those unkind words, I would not have hurt my son’s feelings so badly.

Had we bought a new car, we would have saved on repairs.

You can read more about this type of third conditional (called “inversion”) in our post on English conditionals without if!

English has a number of other, phrases that you can use to talk about past actions you feel bad or sorry about, for example:

• I feel bad about not calling you back yesterday.

• She is repentant about being a bully at school.

• If I could do it over again, I would not choose that company to begin with.

Look at our list of expressions expressing regrets to learn them all!