обвинять в + Prepositional

Accuse of

Level 5Sounds Like obvinâtʹ v + predložnyj

The verb обвинять (to accuse) follows a specific case structure: обвинять [кого? Accusative] в [чём? Prepositional]. It is used for both legal charges and moral blame.

How It Works

The construction обвинять в + предложный is the primary way to express accusations in Russian, ranging from legal indictments to personal blame.

1. Case Government:

  • Direct Object: The person or entity being accused is in the Accusative case.
  • The Charge: The specific act is introduced by в + Prepositional case. Example: обвинять в коррупции (to accuse of corruption).

2. Legal Nuance (по + Dative):
In formal legal contexts, when referring to a specific article of the law or a code, the preposition по + Dative case is used. Example: обвинять по статье сто пять (to charge under article 105).

3. Reflexive Form:
The reflexive form обвиняться в is used to say someone 'is accused of' or 'stands accused of'. Example: Он обвиняется в мошенничестве (He is accused of fraud).

4. Synonym Distinction:

  • Обвинять: Suggests a formal charge or a serious, external attribution of guilt.
  • Винить: Often used for personal feelings of blame or responsibility, frequently appearing in the phrase винить себя (to blame oneself).

5. Aspectual Pairs:

  • Обвинять: Imperfective for ongoing accusations or general habits of blaming.
  • Обвинить: Perfective for a specific instance where a charge was made.

Examples (4)

  1. Его обвинили в нарушении закона.

    He was accused of violating the law.

    Word by Word: Him [they] accused in violation [of] law.

    Here, 'его' is the Accusative object, and 'в нарушении' is the Prepositional case identifying the charge.

  2. Не стоит обвинять меня в своих ошибках.

    You shouldn't blame me for your mistakes.

    Word by Word: Not worth to-blame me in own mistakes.

    This shows the moral/social use of the verb. 'Меня' is Accusative, and 'в ошибках' is Prepositional plural.

  3. Полиция обвиняет чиновника во взяточничестве.

    The police are accusing the official of bribery.

    Word by Word: Police accuses official in bribery.

    Note the use of 'во' instead of 'в' because 'взяточничестве' starts with a 'в' + consonant cluster.

  4. Адвокат доказал, что его клиента обвинили ложно.

    The lawyer proved that his client was accused falsely.

    Word by Word: Lawyer proved that his client [they] accused falsely.

    A common legal context using the perfective past tense.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the Accusative case for the charge instead of the Prepositional when using the preposition 'в'.

    Его обвинили в кражу.
    Его обвинили в краже.

    When using the standard preposition 'в' to specify the charge, the following noun must be in the Prepositional case. The Accusative is only used for the person being accused.

  • Using a different preposition than в (or, in casual speech, за) after обвинять.

    Его обвинили на опоздание.
    Его обвинили в опоздании.

    The standard pattern is обвинять в + Prepositional. In casual speech за + Accusative also appears for minor faults, but verbs like упрекнуть and отругать take за more naturally: Его упрекнули за опоздание. Other prepositions, such as на, do not fit.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

обвинять в + PrepositionalLevel 5Accuse of

Learn This First

To use the pattern 'обвинять в + предложный', a learner must be comfortable with the prepositional case endings for nouns. Additionally, since this is a transitive verb, one must understand how to place the person being accused in the accusative case. Finally, because the 'charge' is often an action, familiarity with verbal nouns is necessary to form natural sentences.

Words in This Pattern

обвинять