Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate response.
A: I’m sorry. I’m late.
B: _____________________ come and sit down.
a) Excuse me!
b) Don’t worry!
c) What’s the matter?
d) Why are you late?

Answer 1

Hint: In the above dialogue the speaker ‘A’ is apologizing for coming late, so when a person apologizes for his/her mistake the other person usually lets it go without questioning too much or getting angry.

Complete answer:
Before trying to solve the above question let us look into the options that are provided to us as a solution.
Option (a) – excuse me! it is used as a polite apology for getting in someone's way or bumping into someone or to indicate that you are about to leave or that you are about to stop talking to someone. Or the other use can be that you are really shocked by what you heard.
Option (b) – don’t worry! it is used to indicate to the interlocutor not to worry about something. Or used when you are trying to make someone feel less anxious and worried about something they did.
Option (c) – what’s the matter? it is used to show that you are concerned about the other person. It is generally used when the person looks angry or worried.
Option (d) – why are you late? It is used when we ask someone why that person is late in arriving at the designated place.
Now, as we can see from the above explanation the correct solution would be option (b), i.e. ‘don’t worry!’ because the speaker ‘A’ is apologizing for being late so the speaker ‘B’ tells him not to worry therefore this is the correct answer and the other options do not complete the dialogue hence are incorrect.

Note:
We use option (a) as an apology, (b) as an indication not to worry, (c) to show concern, and (d) to ask why the person is late. Based on this explanation eliminate the ones that are least likely to be the correct solution.