Language tip of the week: responsible

In this weekly post, we bring more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary to English language learners. These tips are usually based on areas of English which learners find difficult, e.g. spelling, grammar, collocation, synonyms, etc.

This week’s language tip helps with the adjective responsible:

Don’t use the preposition of after the adjective responsible. Use for:
✗ Parents must be ~~responsible of~~ their children’s behaviour.
✓ Parents must be responsible for their children’s behaviour.
✗ When an animal creates a problem, it is the owner who is ~~responsible of~~ this.
✓ When an animal creates a problem, it is the owner who is responsible for this.

You can also use the pattern responsible for doing something:
He was responsible for ensuring that the organization maintained its independence.