bears some responsibility

USAGE SUMMARY

The part of the sentence "bears some responsibility" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use this phrase when someone has a certain level of responsibility for something. For example: "The manager bears some responsibility for the financial losses the business has suffered this year."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

"Tucker also bears some responsibility for his inappropriate response.

The New York Times

Ecuador is obviously responsible for its own fiscal improvidence, but the U.S. bears some responsibility in weakening democracy there.

Forbes

The Tory press also bears some responsibility.

The Guardian - Opinion

Le Couteur also bears some responsibility.

The Guardian

So he bears some responsibility for that".

The New York Times

If Britain bears some responsibility for Libya's mess, then it surely bears some responsibility too for the drownings.

The Guardian - Opinion

Congress also bears some responsibility for the delay.

The New York Times

"You have to say that the governor bears some responsibility".

The New York Times

And Mr McCain's senior staff bears some responsibility for a badly managed campaign.

The Economist

She knows she bears some responsibility for the way she's perceived.

The New Yorker

And now, the international community bears some responsibility to keep Bosnia from ever relapsing into violence.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Pair this phrase with the preposition 'for' to specify the outcome or event in question

Common error

Writers sometimes mistakenly use 'on' or 'to' after the phrase, such as 'bears responsibility on the crisis'. The correct preposition is 'for', as in 'bears responsibility for the crisis'. Avoid using 'bares' (to uncover) which is a common homophone error for 'bears' (to carry).

Linguistic Context

The phrase "bears some responsibility" acts as a transitive verb phrase. In this structure, 'bears' serves as the active verb meaning to carry or hold, 'some' is a quantifier that limits the extent of the noun, and 'responsibility' is the direct object. According to Ludwig, this construction is frequently used to distribute accountability across multiple actors.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

75%

Formal & Business

15%

Science

10%

Less common in

Social Media

5%

Wiki

3%

Reference

2%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "bears some responsibility" is an essential tool for precise communication. According to Ludwig AI, it is consistently found in high-prestige publications to assign partial fault in complex scenarios. Whether discussing political failures, environmental changes, or corporate missteps, this phrase allows writers to avoid oversimplification. By using the verb 'bear' and the quantifier 'some', the speaker signals a sophisticated understanding of causality. It is grammatically robust, stylistically professional and widely recognized as a standard way to frame accountability in the modern English lexicon.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

is partly responsible

Uses a state-of-being verb instead of the more active 'bears'

shoulders some responsibility

Suggests a heavier or more conscious burden of duty

holds some responsibility

Implies the possession of duty or liability

carries some responsibility

Slightly less formal than 'bears' but functionally identical

shares some blame

Specifically emphasizes the negative aspect of fault or error

is partially to blame

A more common idiom for assigning fault in casual or news contexts

is partly at fault

Directly identifies the subject as a source of the problem

is somewhat accountable

Softens the level of responsibility using 'somewhat'

has a hand in

An idiomatic way to say the subject was involved in the outcome

must take some credit

A sarcastic or positive inversion depending on whether the outcome is good or bad

FAQs

How do I use "bears some responsibility" in a sentence?

You can use it to describe partial accountability, such as: "The government "bears some responsibility" for the economic downturn."

What is the difference between "bears some responsibility" and "is responsible"?

While "is responsible" can imply total accountability, adding "some" via ""bears some responsibility"" indicates that there are likely other factors or parties involved.

Can I use "carries some responsibility" instead?

Yes, "carries some responsibility" is a perfectly valid alternative, though "bears" is often preferred in formal writing.

Is it more formal to say "shoulders some responsibility"?

The phrase "shoulders some responsibility" is often seen as more evocative or metaphorical, whereas "bears" is the standard neutral-formal choice.