Questions & Answers about Het spijt me, ik ben te laat.
Why does the sentence use Het spijt me instead of Ik ben sorry?
In Dutch, you cannot literally translate I am sorry. Instead, you use the set expression Het spijt me, which literally means It causes me regret. The word spijt comes from the verb spijten (to regret).
Can I say Het spijt mij instead of Het spijt me?
Yes, you can. Using mij instead of me adds a little more emphasis to the fact that you are the one feeling sorry. However, in casual everyday speech, the unstressed me is the most natural choice.
Is the word te here the same as the English word too?
Exactly! Just like in English, when you put te directly in front of an adjective or adverb like laat (late), it means too. So te laat means too late.
Why does the verb ben stay in the normal position after the comma?
This sentence is made of two independent phrases simply placed next to each other. Because there is no linking word like omdat (because) or dat (that) to turn the second part into a sub-clause, the verb ben stays in its normal spot right after the subject ik.