BLAME

Sometimes, somebody makes a big mistake. Or an accident happens. For example, your mom’s favorite flower vase falls to the floor and breaks into a hundred pieces. Or when you hit a home run, your ball crashes into the upstairs window.

After that, somebody’s gonna ask:

“Who the hell made this mess?”

At times like these, it’s useful to know how to blame ;-)

Well, blaming or “pointing the finger” is always a bad thing – most especially if it’s your fault! It’s much better to just admit your mistake and take responsibility for your action.

(Don’t start pointing your finger at your pet cat! ;-)

But in English, there are several practical expressions that we can use when we talk about blame and when we want to blame people.

First of all, the Vocabulary “Blame” is a Verb. That’s why it’s easy for you to use it this way:

Somebody + Blame + Somebody

Ex. She blamed him.

He blamed her.

They blamed each other.

Or, you can use the Passive and say:

He was blamed (by her).

We were blamed.

I was blamed.

If you wanna include the mistake or the cause of the blame in your sentence, you should say:

Somebody + Blame + Somebody + For + Something

Ex. She blamed him for the mistake.

They blamed me for the terrible presentation.

You should add “For.” And because “For” is a Preposition, it should always be followed by a Noun or a V+ing Verb. Only these.

Ex.

1.       I blame them for the mess.

2.       I blame them for breaking the door.

3.       They blamed him for the accident.

4.       They blamed him for losing/ forgetting the key.

If you want, you can also switch the order like this:

Somebody + Blame + Something + On + Somebody

But be careful because in this case you have to use the Preposition “On” and not “For.”

Ex. They blamed everything on him.

Ex. She blamed what happened on me.

Here, it is also possible to use the Verb “Put.” This time "blame" will become a Noun. 

1.       The boss put the blame on his secretary.

2.       Kids usually put the blame on their brother or sister.

3.       Don’t put the blame on him alone!

If you are on the other side of the situation, you should say:

I took the blame.

Nobody wants to take the blame.

Who will take the blame?

Finally, the Vocabulary “Fault” is also connected to blaming.

For example,

Your angry boss can ask: “Who’s fault is it?”

You can answer: “It’s not my fault.”

Or, you can say: “It’s ____’s fault.”

Please learn how to use all these expressions correctly. But don’t use them for evil by telling a lie. In short, DON’T “pass the blame” to someone else.

And if everybody’s busy playing the “blame game,” just say:

Let’s not blame one other.

-  Or  -

Let’s stop blaming one other.

People should always try to be honest and accept the truth if it’s really their fault.

;-)