Introduction

responsabilizarse means “to take responsibility”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to take responsibility” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows responsabilizarse in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo me responsabilizo del proyecto por la mañana.” — “I take responsibility of the project.”

responsabilizarse in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how responsabilizarse is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.

In the present: everyday use

These sentences use {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo me responsabilizo del proyecto cada día.” — “I take responsibility of the project.”
  2. “Tú te responsabilizas del proyecto cada día.” — “you take responsibility of the project.”
  3. “Él se responsabiliza del proyecto siempre.” — “He takes responsibility of the project.”
  4. “Nosotros nos responsabilizamos del proyecto todos los días.” — “We take responsibility of the project.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo me responsabilicé del proyecto ayer.” — “I took responsibility of the project.” (preterite) 6. “Él se responsabilizó del proyecto ayer.” — “He took responsibility of the project.” (preterite) 7. “Yo me responsabilizaba del proyecto cuando era joven.” — “I used to take responsibility of the project.” (imperfect)

Plans and things already done

These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros nos responsabilizaremos del proyecto mañana.” — “We will take responsibility of the project.” (future) 9. “Tú te has responsabilizado del proyecto hoy.” — “you have taken responsibility of the project.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo me responsabilice del proyecto.” — “I hope that I take responsibility of the project.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros os responsabilizáis del proyecto cada semana.” — “You take responsibility of the project.” 12. “Ellos se responsabilizan del proyecto normalmente.” — “They take responsibility of the project.”

responsabilizarse in context

Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how responsabilizarse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue at work during a coffee break

Marta: “¿Tú te responsabilizas del proyecto?” — Do you take responsibility of the project?

Carlos: “Sí, yo me responsabilizo del proyecto cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I take responsibility of the project every day. It is part of my routine.

Marta: “¿Y ayer? ¿También te responsabilizas del proyecto?” — And yesterday? Did you take responsibility of the project too?

Carlos: “Sí, ayer yo me responsabilicé del proyecto. Mañana nosotros responsabilizaremos del proyecto otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I took responsibility of the project. Tomorrow we will take responsibility of the project again.

A short paragraph

Él se responsabiliza del proyecto cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how responsabilizarse works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo responsabilizo del proyecto — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make responsabilizarse yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is responsabilicé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — responsabilice — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of responsabilizarse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For responsabilizarse, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: responsabilizamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Because responsabilizarse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me responsabilizo del proyecto, not yo responsabilizo del proyecto. Without me, the sentence either means something else or means nothing at all. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se — learn them with the verb, not as an afterthought.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he responsabilizado del proyecto. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy responsabilizado is not the present perfect of responsabilizarse — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing responsabilizarse with resultar

responsabilizarse and resultar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of responsabilizarse — take responsibility — the sentence needs responsabilizarse; if it needs the meaning of resultar, use that verb instead.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of responsabilizarse in the present?

  • A. responsabilizas
  • B. responsabiliza
  • C. responsabilizamos
  • D. responsabilizo

2. What is the tu form of responsabilizarse in the preterite?

  • A. responsabilizamos
  • B. responsabilizaste
  • C. responsabilicé
  • D. responsabilizó

3. What is the el form of responsabilizarse in the imperfect?

  • A. responsabilizabas
  • B. responsabilizábamos
  • C. responsabilizabais
  • D. responsabilizaba

4. What is the nosotros form of responsabilizarse in the future?

  • A. responsabilizará
  • B. responsabilizaremos
  • C. responsabilizaré
  • D. responsabilizarás

5. What is the vosotros form of responsabilizarse in the present perfect?

  • A. he responsabilizado
  • B. has responsabilizado
  • C. ha responsabilizado
  • D. habéis responsabilizado

6. What is the ellos form of responsabilizarse in the present subjunctive?

  • A. responsabilice
  • B. responsabilicen
  • C. responsabilice
  • D. responsabilices

7. What is the yo form of responsabilizarse in the preterite?

  • A. responsabilizaste
  • B. responsabilizó
  • C. responsabilizamos
  • D. responsabilicé

8. What is the tu form of responsabilizarse in the imperfect?

  • A. responsabilizábamos
  • B. responsabilizabas
  • C. responsabilizaba
  • D. responsabilizaba

9. What is the el form of responsabilizarse in the future?

  • A. responsabilizaré
  • B. responsabilizarás
  • C. responsabilizaremos
  • D. responsabilizará

10. What is the nosotros form of responsabilizarse in the conditional?

  • A. responsabilizaría
  • B. responsabilizaríamos
  • C. responsabilizaría
  • D. responsabilizarías

Answer key

  1. responsabilizo — The present table gives yo = responsabilizo.
  2. responsabilizaste — The preterite table gives tu = responsabilizaste.
  3. responsabilizaba — The imperfect table gives el = responsabilizaba.
  4. responsabilizaremos — The future table gives nosotros = responsabilizaremos.
  5. habéis responsabilizado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis responsabilizado.
  6. responsabilicen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = responsabilicen.
  7. responsabilicé — The preterite table gives yo = responsabilicé.
  8. responsabilizabas — The imperfect table gives tu = responsabilizabas.
  9. responsabilizará — The future table gives el = responsabilizará.
  10. responsabilizaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = responsabilizaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use responsabilizarse in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo me responsabilizo del proyecto.” — “I take responsibility of the project.” Do not forget the reflexive pronoun: it goes before the verb. Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of responsabilizarse to learn first?

Learn the present yo form responsabilizo first, then the preterite yo form responsabilicé and the participle responsabilizado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund responsabilizando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is responsabilizarse reflexive?

Yes — responsabilizarse is reflexive, so it always takes me, te, se, nos, os or se. You say yo me responsabilizo, never just yo responsabilizo. The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb, or attached to the infinitive and gerund.

Where can I see the full conjugation of responsabilizarse?

On the main conjugation page for responsabilizarse, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links