"Sorry if I bother you" vs. "Sorry to bother you" : Which one is more idiomatic? [closed]

expression-choice

I need to send an message via SMS to my supervisor.

Which is more a idiomatic introduction?

  1. "Sorry if I bother you."
  2. "Sorry if I bothered you."
  3. "Sorry to bother you."

Solution 1:

This sort of question is easily answered by starting with Google Ngrams. Here's the chart comparing

  • Sorry if I bother you
  • Sorry if I bothered you
  • Sorry to bother you
  • Sorry if I am bothering

Ngrams can only cope with phrases of up to five words, but missing you off the last one isn't going to change the result significantly, especially as that five-word phrase isn't found.

Ngram

Sorry to bother you is streets ahead of all the others, two of which don't appear at all.

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