"Sorry for bothering you" vs. "sorry to bother you" [closed]

Is it grammatically OK to use "Sorry for bothering you"? I often hear "Sorry to bother you".

Right. "Sorry to bother you" is more idiomatic than its other variants.

    "I'm sorry to bother you" puts it unquestionably in the present.

I would use "sorry to bother you" at the beginning of a conversation and "sorry for bothering you" at the end of a conversation.

Having said that, there are several other possibilities, such as:

• "I'm sorry to be such a bother.
• "I'm sorry to have bothered you"....etc.

"Sorry for bothering you" would refer to the past. You have asked someone a question, he had to stop what he was doing, and you are apologizing.

With the question in the infinitive, you are putting someone on notice that you are going to make some kind of request/ask a question...