Breakdown of Eu acho que a culpa não é minha, mas ainda me sinto envergonhado.
Questions & Answers about Eu acho que a culpa não é minha, mas ainda me sinto envergonhado.
In Portuguese, verbs of thinking, believing, saying, etc. almost always need que before the clause that follows.
- Correct: Eu acho que a culpa não é minha.
- Incorrect: Eu acho a culpa não é minha.
Que works like that in English in sentences like I think that it’s not my fault. In English you can often drop that, but in Portuguese you normally cannot drop que in this structure.
All three express an opinion, but the nuance and frequency differ:
- acho que – most common and most neutral in everyday speech; corresponds well to I think (that).
- Eu acho que ele tem razão. – I think he’s right.
- penso que – a bit more formal or careful, often used in more thoughtful or structured speech.
- Penso que isso não é uma boa ideia.
- creio que – suggests belief or confidence; can sound slightly more formal or old‑fashioned in everyday talk.
- Creio que vai chover.
In your sentence, Eu acho que a culpa não é minha is the most natural everyday choice.
Portuguese uses definite articles more than English, especially:
- With abstract nouns: a culpa, a felicidade, a verdade
- With general concepts: A música é importante. – Music is important.
Here a culpa literally means the fault, but it’s the normal, idiomatic way to say fault / blame as a concept. Saying just culpa in this sentence (Eu acho que culpa não é minha) would sound wrong.
Adjectives and possessive pronouns in Portuguese agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to.
- culpa is a feminine singular noun → a culpa
- So the possessive pronoun must also be feminine singular → minha
Examples:
- O erro não é meu. – erro is masculine → meu
- A culpa não é minha. – culpa is feminine → minha
Yes, several:
- Não é culpa minha. – Very common and natural; same meaning, slightly different structure.
- Não é por minha culpa. – Literally it’s not by my fault, also frequent.
- Não fui eu o culpado / a culpada. – I wasn’t the one to blame.
All of these work in European Portuguese, with small stylistic differences. Your version, A culpa não é minha, is perfectly idiomatic.
The verb sentir‑se (reflexive) means to feel (a certain state or emotion):
- Eu sinto‑me cansado. – I feel tired.
- Ela sente‑se feliz. – She feels happy.
Without se / me, sentir usually means to feel (something physical or emotional directly):
- Sinto dor. – I feel pain.
- Sinto frio. – I feel cold.
In ainda me sinto envergonhado, we’re talking about an emotional state, so the reflexive sentir‑se is the natural choice, with me referring back to eu.
In European Portuguese, the default in simple affirmative sentences is to attach the pronoun after the verb (enclisis):
- Sinto‑me envergonhado.
But certain words pull the pronoun in front of the verb (proclisis), such as:
- Negative words: não, nunca
- Many adverbs: ainda, já, sempre, etc.
- Question words, some conjunctions, etc.
Because ainda is an adverb, it attracts the pronoun:
- Ainda me sinto envergonhado. (preferred in EP)
- Ainda sinto‑me envergonhado. (can be heard, but is less standard in EP)
So ainda me sinto is the standard European Portuguese word order here.
In mas ainda me sinto envergonhado, ainda means still:
- …but I still feel embarrassed.
It implies that the situation continues up to now, despite something that might be expected to change it (in this case, your belief that it’s not your fault).
Depending on context, ainda can translate as:
- still: Ainda estou em casa. – I’m still at home.
- yet (in questions): Já comeste? – Ainda não. – Not yet.
- even (intensifying): Ainda melhor! – Even better!
Both can translate as embarrassed / ashamed, but with slightly different flavours:
- estar / sentir‑se envergonhado – adjective; often a bit stronger or more formal:
- Sinto‑me envergonhado pelo que fiz. – I feel ashamed of what I did.
- estar / ficar com vergonha – literally to be / get with shame; very common in speech:
- Fiquei com vergonha. – I got embarrassed.
- Ele está com vergonha de falar. – He’s shy/embarrassed to speak.
In your sentence, me sinto envergonhado sounds slightly more descriptive; ainda estou com vergonha would sound more colloquial.
You can use envergonhado both:
On its own, when the reason is clear from context:
- Ainda me sinto envergonhado. – I still feel embarrassed (about the whole situation you’ve been talking about).
With de or por when you specify the cause:
- Sinto‑me envergonhado de ter gritado.
- Sinto‑me envergonhado por aquilo que disse.
Your sentence is perfectly natural because the cause of the embarrassment is understood from the wider context.
Yes, you can omit eu:
- Acho que a culpa não é minha, mas ainda me sinto envergonhado.
Portuguese is a pro‑drop language: the verb ending (acho) already tells you the subject is eu, so eu is optional.
When speakers do include eu, it can:
- Emphasize the subject: Eu acho que… (as for me, I think that…)
- Make the sentence sound slightly more explicit or contrastive.
In neutral conversation, both with and without eu are fine.
Yes, it changes the time reference:
- não é minha – is not my fault now (as a general assessment of the situation), even if the events were in the past.
- Eu acho que a culpa não é minha. – I think (in general) it isn’t my fault.
- não era minha – was not my fault at some past time:
- Eu acho que a culpa não era minha. – I think it wasn’t my fault (then, in that past situation).
Your original sentence sounds like you’re talking about responsibility in a more general or present sense, even though the incident may already have happened.