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Do you think "bring" verb is a suitable and correct verb and collocation for using with "Excuse"? I didn't see it in any famous dictionaries, including Oxford Collocations Dictionary and I guess it's non-standard and partially wrong.

The below example is the sentence that I read and considered about and now I'm asking here. Also "the" definition article needs to goes before the "excuse" doesn't it?

"She is telling her mom how to bring excuse to school for skipping"

Best, Masoud

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  • You would normally 'Bring your excuses' and give them to someone for not doing something. The sentence in the question doesn't read right for me. 'bring an excuse' or 'bring an excusing letter' perhaps
    – Smock
    Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 11:34
  • Consider that "excuse" is a noun, with no syntactic difference from "lunch" in this context. And the phrase "for skipping" should be moved to directly follow "excuse", since that's what it modifies.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 11:36
  • @HotLicks, but an excuse is far more intangible than lunch. In the same way, you can make a greeting, but not bring one. But if this is referring to a written note, then I agree you can "bring" it just as you would your lunch.
    – Tim Foster
    Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 11:59
  • @Tim Foster, Actually, the example sentence I wrote in my question was written by the kid's aunt in her Instagram account; who the aunt told her friend about the niece what exactly she said because the words were unclear because the kid is very young. So in a written situation like I said, "bring" is right?
    – Masoud Moghaddam
    Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 12:08
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    @TimFoster - Actually the reason for not being at school (the first situation you mentioned) in a funny way the aunt and her friend laughed the situation and the smart girl who didn't like to go to school in one day and likes to skip it and rest at home or play!
    – Masoud Moghaddam
    Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 12:30

2 Answers 2

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There "excuse" refers (informally) to the written note, a piece of paper the student hands in to the teacher or to the office. Hence the verb "bring".

A student could say

I left my excuse on the kitchen table.

or

The dog ate my excuse.

or

I forgot to bring my excuse. I left it on the table.

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  • Can you give an example with 'bring' or would that be wrong?
    – Mitch
    Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 12:06
  • According to OP, it is not a written note
    – Tim Foster
    Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 16:54
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    @Tim Foster: where do you get that notion from?
    – TimR
    Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 16:59
  • @TRomano check the comments on the question
    – Tim Foster
    Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 17:02
  • @Tim Foster: I still see no indication that OP has said there was no written note involved.
    – TimR
    Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 17:07
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Typically, you would make (not bring) an excuse for something that you have done/not done.

Therefore, I would rephrase your sentence as:

She is telling her mum how to make an excuse for skipping school.

Or if she (A) is asking her mum (B) to make an excuse for her (A) skipping school, you would say:

She is asking her mum to make an excuse for her skipping school.

Excuse does not need a definite article (the), but an indefinite article (an), because you are talking about an unspecified excuse.

Excuse would take the definite article it the excuse was specified in the sentence, for example:

She is asking her mum to make the excuse that she is too ill to go to school.

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