It is always … that gets the blame

Analyze the question: The sentence is "It is always __ that gets the blame." We need the pronoun form that fits grammatically.

Explain the concept: This is a cleft sentence ("It is ... that ..."). The word after "is" is the subject of the relative clause "that gets the blame." Look at the verb "gets": it is third person singular, which is a clue, but the key is the grammatical role. The pronoun is the one doing the action (getting the blame), so it should be in the subjective (nominative) case: I, not me.

In formal English, which is what WASSCE tests, the pronoun in a cleft sentence takes the case of its role in the clause that follows. Since "that gets the blame" describes the one who gets the blame, the pronoun is the subject, so we use I.

Step-by-step solution:

• A. me is the objective case. It is used for objects, as in "They blame me." It is informal in this position.
• B. I is the subjective case. It fits "It is I that gets the blame" (formal standard).
• C. myself is a reflexive pronoun. It needs a subject "I" in the same clause to refer back to, so it is wrong here.
• D. mine is a possessive pronoun, meaning "belonging to me." It does not fit, as the sentence is not about ownership.

So the best completion is: "It is always I that gets the blame."

(Strictly formal grammar might even prefer "It is always I who get the blame," but among the options given, I is clearly the grammatically correct choice.)

Answer: B. I

Tip: In "It is/was ___ that/who..." sentences, ask yourself, "Is this word doing the action of the clause?" If yes, use the subject form (I, he, she, we, they). If the answer is no, use the object form. Also, remember that myself never stands alone as a subject without "I".