we are to blame?

peach   Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:05 pm GMT
why the sentence is "we are to blame" but not "we are to be blamed?"

any grammar i am not aware of?

thank you in advance for your kind answer.
meez   Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:26 pm GMT
active-passive?
Guest   Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:40 pm GMT
"we are to blame" sounds simpler than "we are to be blamed".

I guess "to blame" is just an idiom (one of many).
Iain   Mon Nov 19, 2007 7:57 pm GMT
You'll probably find other similar little phrases that probably defy rules and just constitute a group of cases. Who's to know?
beneficii   Mon Nov 19, 2007 8:46 pm GMT
It never seemed wrong to me. "We are" seemed to be the object while "to blame" is the verb. It just refers to thinking that you deserve to have somebody blame you.