it's your fault

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrase

   Used to say that the person you are speaking to is responsible for something bad that happened.

   Grammar: Use it as a full sentence. You can also say 'It's not your fault' to remove blame, or 'It's all your fault' to make the blame stronger.

   Patterns

   • it's your fault
   • it's not your fault
   • it's all your fault

   It's your fault we missed the train — you forgot the tickets.

   Don't say it's your fault; the storm caused the delay.

   She told him it was his fault that the project failed.

2. 2phrasefixed phrase

   Used to state that the mistake or problem belongs to the person addressed, not to anyone else.

   Grammar: Change 'your' to 'his', 'her', 'my', etc. to talk about other people: 'It's my fault.'

   Patterns

   • it's my fault
   • it's his fault
   • it's her fault

   It's my fault for not checking the address.

   The teacher made it clear that it was not the student's fault.

   If the plan fails, it's our fault for not preparing.

Common combinations

entirely your fault

The accident was entirely your fault.

partly your fault

The argument was partly your fault too.

put the blame on someone

He tried to put the blame on his teammate.

Synonyms and how they differ

responsibility

This is a neutral noun for duty or control; 'fault' adds the idea of blame for something wrong.

blame

This focuses on the act of saying someone did wrong, while 'fault' is the quality of having done wrong.

Opposites

Word family

fault noun

Responsibility for a mistake or a weakness in someone's character.

faulty adjective

Not working correctly, as in a faulty machine.

faultless adjective

Without any mistakes or weaknesses.

Commonly confused: it's your fault or mistake?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “it's your fault”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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