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Prepositions with nouns

Responsibility with prepositions

Responsibility most often combines with for to show duty or obligation.

Quick answer

Which prepositions are used with responsibility?

Responsibility for is the standard pattern for duties and blame. From responsibility appears after words like free, while with responsibility describes accompanying duties.

responsibility for safety
free from responsibility for the decision
a job with responsibility
concerns about responsibility remained

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
responsibility for + task/person

Who or what is someone responsible for?

Use for with duties, care, or blame.

responsibility for the budget
2
with responsibility

Having duties or authority

With describes accompanying responsibility.

a senior role with responsibility for staff
3
from responsibility

Freedom from duties

From often follows adjectives like free or relieved.

He felt relieved from responsibility after retiring
4
about responsibility

Discussing the topic

About introduces the subject of discussion.

They argued about responsibility for the mistake

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
responsibility for
She accepted responsibility for the error.
duty or blame
with responsibility
He wants a position with more responsibility.
including duties
without responsibility
The role offers freedom without responsibility.
absence of duties
about responsibility
We had a debate about responsibility.
topic of discussion
from responsibility
They were released from responsibility.
freedom or removal from duty

Common mistakes

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

Using of instead of for

Responsibility normally takes for.

✕ responsibility of the project ✓ responsibility for the project

Confusing with and for

With describes accompanying duties; for identifies the duty itself.

✕ responsibility with customer service ✓ responsibility for customer service

Using from without context

From responsibility usually follows words like free or relieved.

✕ from responsibility is stressful ✓ freedom from responsibility is stressful

Forgetting for after responsibility

The noun commonly needs for before the object.

✕ responsibility employees ✓ responsibility for employees

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. He took responsibility ___ the accident.
2. She applied for a role with more ___.
3. After retirement, he felt free ___ responsibility.

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Frequently asked questions

What preposition usually follows responsibility?

Responsibility for is the standard combination.

Can I say with responsibility?

Yes. It means a role or situation includes duties.

When is from responsibility used?

It appears in phrases such as free from responsibility or relieved from responsibility.

of, about, against, to or for racism? of, about, for, in or on friendship? of, about, for, on or to thing? of, about, for, to or with sex? of, about, on, to or for moon? "of access" or "with access"? "of accommodation" or "for accommodation"? "of accuracy" or "for accuracy"? "of action" or "in action"? "of actor", "with actor" or "by actor"? "of address" or "to address"? "of administration" or "in administration"?

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