Sorry to (do something), but (sentence)

When you want to do something that you think might annoy people, but you need to do it anyway, you say "Sorry to ___". For example:

Sorry to say this, but I don't think that's a very good idea.

Sorry to leave early, but I have to go and pick my son up from school.

If you want to be more formal, you say:

I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I ask you something quickly?

interrupt (someone)

To "interrupt" someone is to make them stop doing what they are doing. You can interrupt people while they are:

• talking to someone (interrupt someone's conversation)
• thinking about something (interrupt someone's train of thought)
• writing something (interrupt someone while they're writing)
• watching TV (interrupt someone's show)

You usually follow the word "interrupt" by telling who you're interrupting:

Sorry for interrupting you.

But you can also leave it on its own:

I hate to interrupt, but can I speak to you privately for a minute?

Can I ask you something?

When you need to ask someone a question that's important, complicated, or might make them upset, you first ask:

Can I ask you something?

Or:

Can I ask you a question?

Of course, this is already a question, so sometimes when you ask someone "Can I ask you a question?" they will respond:

You just did!

This is supposed to be a joke. Do you get the joke?