The article provides an analysis of the collocation of the formula excuse me with other utterances. The author has distinguished two main groups of functions which this formula can perform. The first group includes the cases where apology is the main function of excuse me . The second group includes the cases where apology is the secondary function of excuse me whereas the main function of this formula can be: establishing a communicative contact; ending a communication; softening an utterance; requesting for repetition; expressing surprise; expressing reproach. The author shows the relationship of excuse me in different functions. Distributional and comparative methods are used in the analysis.
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