Tardy

長假日過後，堆積了許多電郵尚未回覆。遲覆電郵，英文可以說I am sorry for my tardiness in replying to your email.（我很抱歉遲覆你的電郵。）或者Apologies for my tardy reply.（我為遲覆道歉。）

形容詞tardy可以解「行動遲緩的」--doing something too slowly or late。例句︰My husband has been extremely tardy in paying his bills.（我丈夫付帳單非常遲緩。）There is no use complaining about the tardy government response.（抱怨政府遲緩的回應並沒有用。）

Tardy也可以解「遲到的」--arriving late。例如︰If a tardy arrival is due to a school bus issue, students will be excused.（如果由於校車問題而導致遲到，學生會被原諒。）He has been tardy more than five times this semester.（這個學期他已經遲到了五次以上。）

名詞tardiness可以後接介詞in，指出拖拉甚麼--tardiness in doing something。例句︰Tardiness in answering text from friends may make them think you are ignoring them.（遲覆朋友短信，可能會令他們認為你忽略他們。）

（本欄逢周一、三、五刊登）