TypoGuard AI Spell Check for Chrome
  • Home
  • Pricing
  • Features
  • Blog
  • Support Portal
  • Tutorials
  • The Story
  • Contact
25/10/2026

“Sorry to Bother You” or “Sorry for Bother You”? The Correct Form Explained

“Sorry to Bother You” or “Sorry for Bother You”? The Correct Form Explained
25/10/2026

The correct phrase is sorry to bother you. The version you sometimes see, “sorry for bother you”, is a grammar mistake, because the word for needs an -ing form after it: sorry for bothering you. Both correct versions are polite and natural, and a real-time checker like TypoGuard catches the broken one the moment you type it, before it lands in someone’s inbox.

Why “Sorry for Bother You” Is Wrong

English offers two correct patterns after “sorry”, and “sorry for bother you” mixes them together:

sorry to + base verb → Sorry to bother you.
sorry for + -ing verb → Sorry for bothering you.

Pick one pattern and stay with it. “Sorry for bother you” combines the preposition for with a bare verb, and “sorry to bothering you” does the opposite. Neither works.

“Sorry to Bother You”: When to Use It

Use the to + verb form when you are about to interrupt someone or ask for something. It works as a polite opener:

“Sorry to bother you, but do you have a minute to review this draft?”
“Sorry to bother you so late, but the file didn’t upload.”

“Sorry for Bothering You”: When to Use It

Use the for + -ing form when the interruption has already happened, or when you are closing a message and acknowledging the time you took:

“Sorry for bothering you again about the invoice.”
“Thanks for your patience, and sorry for bothering you with so many questions.”

What the Dictionaries Say

Both patterns are standard English. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries give “Sorry to bother you, but could I speak to you for a moment?” as a model sentence, and elsewhere show the pattern “sorry for taking the car without asking” for an apology about something already done. The rule of thumb is simple: before the interruption use to bother, after it use for bothering.

Quick Reference

Sorry to bother you = correct, before or while interrupting
Sorry for bothering you = correct, after interrupting
Sorry for bother you = incorrect
Sorry to bothering you = incorrect

More Polite Ways to Say It

If you want something a little softer in a professional email, try apologies for the interruption, I hope this is a good time, or thank you for your time. Pairing a short apology with a clear request usually reads better than stacking several apologies in a row.

Catch It Before You Hit Send

Small structure errors like “sorry for bother you” are easy to miss when you are typing fast, especially in a quick message. TypoGuard’s free grammar checker reads the sentence as you write and fixes the verb form in real time across Gmail, chats, and forms.

Want to stop second-guessing small phrases like this? Install TypoGuard for free and let it handle the details for you.

chrome typoguard-sm

Share this:

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon

Grammar Tips typoguard

Previous article50+ Synonyms for "Good" (Better Words for Every Situation)50+ synonyms for good vocabulary graphicNext article ChatGPT Grammar: Why Clean Input Gets Better Answers (and a Low-Cost Way to Get It)ChatGPT Grammar: Why Clean Input Gets Better Answers
Add as a preferred source on Google

Recent Posts

ChatGPT Grammar: Why Clean Input Gets Better Answers (and a Low-Cost Way to Get It)25/10/2026
“Sorry to Bother You” or “Sorry for Bother You”? The Correct Form Explained25/10/2026
50+ Synonyms for “Good” (Better Words for Every Situation)24/10/2026
Spell Check for AI Chat: The Missing Feature Reddit Users Work Around22/10/2026
“According To” Synonym: 25+ Ways to Attribute Information Without Repeating Yourself21/10/2026

Categories

  • Chrome Extension
  • General
  • Grammar
  • Grammar Tips
  • Spelling
  • Tech

Tags

ai spell checker for gmail web interface best chrome extension for real-time grammar check Gemini AI gmail Google Chrome Grammar Grammarly Grammar Tips multilingual spell check multilingual spell check for web-based booking tools real-time typo correction for customer service chats Spell Check synonym Synonyms Tools typoguard
Copyright 2026 | TypoGuard.vip | Privacy Policy | Refund and Returns All Right Reserved | Partners | News

About

TypoGuard is a Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge extension that helps you correct written text in chat boxes and contact text fields before you send it. Inspired by Google’s “Did you mean” experience, TypoGuard suggests smarter corrections when users make writing mistakes across supported web platforms.

Recent Posts

ChatGPT Grammar: Why Clean Input Gets Better Answers (and a Low-Cost Way to Get It)25/10/2026
“Sorry to Bother You” or “Sorry for Bother You”? The Correct Form Explained25/10/2026
50+ Synonyms for “Good” (Better Words for Every Situation)24/10/2026

Categories

  • Chrome Extension
  • General
  • Grammar
  • Grammar Tips
  • Spelling
  • Tech

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org