Thursday 9 October 2014

Who Is To Blame?

Introduction


This post showcases/ highlights a typical use of the verb tener*.





SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a work colleague about a mishap or something which has gone wrong.

At some point, the other person says: "who is to blame?"

In Spanish, the other person could choose to say:
¿Quién tiene la culpa?


OUR TIP

Answering this question should be straightforward. Naming the person who is to blame may be sufficient. However, you may use the expression tener la culpa to make your answer more informative.


Here are some examples of how you could use that expression:
  • Yo no tengo la culpa (I am not to blame);
  • Tú no tienes la culpa, ¿verdad? (you are not to blame, are you);
  • Nadie tiene la culpa (nobody is to blame);
  • Pedro tiene la culpa (Pedro is to blame);
  • María tiene la culpa (María is to blame);
  • Todos tenemos la culpa (we are all to blame);
  • Pedro y María tienen la culpa (Pedro and María are to blame);


Now you should practise answering the question:
¿Quién tiene la culpa?

*See uses of verb tener below

*Verb tener - Typical Uses/ Expressions

Tener calor
To feel hot
Tener celos
To feel jealousy/ to be jealous
Tener cuidado
To be careful
Tener dolor
To feel pain/ to have an ache
Tener envidia
To feel envy/ to be envious
Tener fiebre
To be feverish
Tener frío
To feel cold
Tener ganas de algo
To look forward to something
Tener hambre
To feel hungry
Tener la culpa
To be at fault
Tener miedo
To feel afraid
Tener pensado
To have in mind
Tener prisa
To be in hurry
Tener sed
To feel thirsty
Tener sueño
To feel sleepy
Tener suerte
To be lucky
Tener tos
To have a cough
Tener xx* años/ meses/ etc.
To be xx years/ months/ etc. old
Tenerle rabia a alguien
To have it in for someone

*NB Express ages by conjugating tener and replacing xx with a number. For example, I am 18 years old = tengo 18 años.

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