Knowing the right reflex phrase matters more than grammar sometimes. If you accidentally step on someone's foot, what do you say?

"Oops, sorry!" is the reflexive apology English speakers reach for after a small accidental mishap like stepping on a foot. It works because "oops" signals an unintentional slip and "sorry" delivers the apology in one quick breath — exactly the tone a minor, harmless accident calls for.

"Never mind" is what you'd say to dismiss someone else's apology or worry, not to offer your own. "Congratulations" celebrates an achievement and has nothing to do with an accident, so it would sound bizarre or even sarcastic in this context.

These reflex phrases are learned almost like reflexes in sports — native speakers don't consciously choose them, they just fire automatically, which is exactly why getting them wrong can make an otherwise fluent speaker sound noticeably foreign.