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Prepositions after adjectives

accountable for vs accountable to

Use accountable for for responsibility for actions or results. Use accountable to for the person or organisation that receives the explanation.

Quick answer

Which preposition is correct with accountable?

Accountable for refers to responsibility for something. Accountable to refers to the authority or group someone answers to.

Managers are accountable for project delays.
The director is accountable to the board.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
accountable for + action/result

Responsibility for something

Use for with actions, decisions, outcomes, or duties.

She is accountable for the final report.
2
accountable to + person/organisation

Who someone answers to

Use to for the authority receiving explanations or reports.

The agency is accountable to parliament.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
accountable for
He is accountable for the budget.
responsible for something
accountable to
She is accountable to the committee.
required to answer to someone
accountable with
The phrase accountable with is not standard here.
avoid this combination

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using to for responsibility

Use for when naming the thing someone is responsible for.

✕ She is accountable to the mistake. ✓ She is accountable for the mistake.

Using for for authority

Use to when naming the authority or organisation.

✕ The minister is accountable for parliament. ✓ The minister is accountable to parliament.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The team is accountable ___ customer data.
2. The CEO is accountable ___ shareholders.
3. Choose the correct sentence: ___

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Frequently asked questions

Can accountable be followed by both for and to?

Yes. A person can be accountable for actions and accountable to an authority at the same time.

Is accountable with correct?

No. Accountable with is not a standard combination.

What is the difference between responsible and accountable?

They are similar, but accountable often suggests a formal duty to explain actions or results.

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