Chen Hao did not turn up yesterday. Xiaoyu waited an hour for him outside the door.
Chen Hao
小雨，真对不起，昨天我没去。
Xiǎoyǔ, zhēn duìbuqǐ, zuótiān wǒ méi qù.
Xiaoyu, I am truly sorry, I did not come yesterday.
Xiaoyu
我在门口等了你一个小时。
Wǒ zài ménkǒu děng le nǐ yī gè xiǎoshí.
I waited an hour for you at the door.
Chen Hao
因为手机没电了，所以没办法告诉你。
Yīnwèi shǒujī méi diàn le, suǒyǐ méi bànfǎ gàosu nǐ.
My phone was out of battery, so I had no way of telling you.
Xiaoyu
你可以借别人的手机打给我啊。
Nǐ kěyǐ jiè biéren de shǒujī dǎ gěi wǒ a.
You could have borrowed someone's phone and called me.
Chen Hao
我不记得你的号码，都存在手机里。
Wǒ bù jìde nǐ de hàomǎ, dōu cún zài shǒujī lǐ.
I do not know your number by heart, it is all in the phone.
Xiaoyu
那你后来去哪儿了？
Nà nǐ hòulái qù nǎr le ?
So where did you go afterwards?
Chen Hao
我先回家充电，再出来的时候你已经走了。
Wǒ xiān huí jiā chōngdiàn, zài chūlái de shíhou nǐ yǐjīng zǒu le.
I went home to charge it, and by the time I came out again you had gone.
Xiaoyu
下次要是来不了，提前说一声。
Xiàcì yàoshi lái bù le, tíqián shuō yī shēng.
Next time, if you cannot make it, let me know in advance.
Chen Hao
一定。今天我请你吃饭，算是道歉。
Yīdìng. Jīntiān wǒ qǐng nǐ chī fàn, suàn shì dàoqiàn.
I will. Today dinner is on me, by way of an apology.
Xiaoyu
好吧，这次就原谅你。
Hǎo ba, zhè cì jiù yuánliàng nǐ.
All right, I will forgive you this once.
Chen Hao
谢谢。那我们六点在地铁站见。
Xièxie. Nà wǒmen liù diǎn zài dìtiězhàn jiàn.
Thank you. Then let us meet at six at the metro station.
等了你一个小时: the time spent doing something goes behind the verb, never in front. When the verb already has an object, as 你 does here, the duration comes after it; you also hear the solution that repeats the verb, 等你等了一个小时. English puts the duration where it likes; Chinese does not.
了 is read liǎo here, not le. 来不了 means you are prevented; 不来 means you are not coming, which is a choice. That difference carries the whole meaning of an apology. The positive form is 来得了, and the same mould serves everywhere: 吃不了, I will never get through it; 走不了, I cannot leave.
提前说一声 does not ask for a speech, but for a quick word, a signal. 一声 after a verb of speaking cuts its weight to almost nothing: 叫一声, a shout; 问一声, a question asked in passing. It is the phrase that makes a reproach bearable, because it says that what was expected was a very small thing.
