Breakdown of Она всегда винит только себя.
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
всегда
always
только
only
себя
oneself (себе: Dat/Prep)
винить
to blame
Questions & Answers about Она всегда винит только себя.
Why do we use себя here instead of её?
себя is a reflexive pronoun meaning oneself. Whenever the subject of the sentence (here, Она) does an action to themselves, you must use себя. If you used её, the sentence would mean she is blaming a completely different woman (She always blames her).
What case is себя in this sentence?
It is in the Accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb винит (blames). The form себя is used for both the Accusative and Genitive cases. Remember, себя does not have a Nominative form because it can never be the subject of a sentence!
Why is только placed exactly where it is?
In Russian, words like только (only) generally go right before the specific word they emphasize. By placing it directly before себя, it clearly shows that she blames only herself and absolutely no one else.
What is the infinitive form of винит?
The infinitive is винить (to blame). It is a regular Second Conjugation verb (verbs ending in -ить), which is why the she form ends in -ит.
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