The Greek verb φταίω

The Greek verb φταίω

Today we will learn how to use the Greek verb φταίω/to be blame, to be responsible. Many of you find it quite difficult to use this verb because it is not always possible to translate it properly into English. This is why today we will learn how to use it through sentences.

First of all let’s see how to conjugate the verb φταίω in Present tense.

 

Ενεστώτας/Simple Present/Present Continuous

εγώ φταίω

εσύ φταις

αυτός, αυτή, αυτό φταίει

εμείς φταίμε

εσείς φταίτε

αυτοί, αυτές, αυτά φταίνε/ φταιν

 

Αόριστος/Simple Past

εγώ έφταιξα

εσύ έφταιξες

αυτός, αυτή, αυτό έφταιξε

εμείς φταίξαμε

εσείς φταίξατε

αυτοί, αυτές, αυτά έφταιξαν/ φταίξανε

 

 

Παρατατικός/Past Continuous

εγώ έφταιγα

εσύ έφταιγες

αυτός, αυτή, αυτό έφταιγε

εμείς φταίγαμε

εσείς φταίγατε

αυτοί, αυτές, αυτά έφταιγαν/ φταίγανε

 

 Μέλλοντας Εξακολουθητικός/Future Continuous

εγώ θα φταίω

εσύ θα φταις

αυτός, αυτή, αυτό θα φταίει

εμείς θα φταίμε

εσείς θα φταίτε

αυτοί, αυτές, αυτά θα φταίνε

 

Let’s see now some examples.

Εγώ φταίω. Σου ζητώ να με συγχωρήσεις./I am at fault. So, we use the verb to say that I am responsible for a particular situation that has gone wrong. “I am at fault. I am asking you to forgive me”. 

  Εάν έφταιξα, σου ζητώ συγγνώμη./if I did wrong, I am sorry.

Ο Γιώργος έφταιγε, αλλά ο διευθυντής δεν του είπε τίποτα. /George was at fault but the manager didn’t tell him anything.

Όταν ένας γάμος διαλύεται, φταίνε και οι δυο./”when a marriage breaks up, both are to blame.”

Φταίμε κι οι δυο. /”we are both at fault!”

Also, we can use the preposition για after the verb φταίω if we want to mention what bad we have done.

Εσύ φταις για το ατύχημα./”you are to blame for the accident”.

Αυτός φταίει για όσα περνάω τώρα./”he is at fault/he is responsible for everything bad I am living now”. So, we use the verb φταίω, the preposition για and then Accusative.

Ποιος φταίει για το σπασμένο παράθυρο;/”who is to blame for the broken window?”

 

Another way to use this verb is to say φταίω and then to use a dependent clause to say the reason.

Φταίω κι εγώ που πίστευα ό,τι μου έλεγε. /”it’s my fault too because I was believing everything he was telling to me”.

Η δασκάλα φταίει που δεν ενημέρωσε τους γονείς του μαθητή./  ”it is the teacher’s fault because she didn’t inform the student’s parents”.

 

It is very common to use the weak form of the personal pronoun in genitive before the verb. For example:

Σε τι έφταιξα και με τιμωρείς;/”what did I do to you and you are punishing me?”,

Τι σου έφταιξε ο σκύλος και τον χτυπάς;/“what did the dog do to you and you are beating it?”

Τι τους έφταιξαν τα αδέσποτα και τα δηλητηρίασαν;/”what did the stray dogs do to them and they poisoned them?”

 

Also, the neuter noun φταίξιμο comes from the verb φταίω. So we say:

Eσύ φταίς/”you are at fault” or Το φταίξιμο είναι δικό σου/“the fault is yours”.

Εγώ φταίω.Δεν έπρεπε να τον πιστέψω./”I am to blame/I am at fault. I shouldn’t believe him” or

Το φταίξιμο είναι δικό μου. Δεν έπρεπε να τον πιστέψω./“the fault is mine. I shouldn’t believe him”.