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Hi English teachers, will you please tell me if this is correct?

You are the most thoughtless person I've ever known, so I find it very ironic that you come here trying to act responsible all of a sudden.

Teechr · Accepted Answer

anonymoustrying to act responsible

Some consider that problematic. Take a look at the discussions below.

https://www.englishforums.com/English/UnusuallyAggressively/bjddw/post.htm

https://www.englishforums.com/English/ToActLinkingVerb/cnhjm/post.htm

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/309278/act-as-a-linking-verb

Cobra panda 120 · Answer

"Responsible" has two meanings that hinge on the same premise, ownership.

One is to be the cause of an outcome. "Who is responsible for breaking the vase?" or "Who is responsible for repairing the vase?"

The other is the conscience trait of trying to do the right/proper thing in any situation. "Since Tom accidentally broke the vase, he felt he should do the responsible thing and fix it."

Responsibly only pertains to the second form of responsible noted above, the trait of being responsible. Tom was responsible (the cause) for breaking the vase, but because he had the trait of seeking to do the right thing, he acted responsibly by fixing it.

In your case, the person being chastised didn't necessarily cause something to happen, good or bad, they simply made the proper decisions in any given situation while at an event. They acted responsibly. This was apparently out of character in the opinion or the person speaking. This person wasn't pointing out a particular incident that the other was responsible for, but the trait of acting responsibly.

Though your use of "responsible" can work and many people would not take exception to it, "responsibly" is the more proper word.

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