Depend on means to be decided by something, or to rely on someone. The first meaning is about conditions: a price, a result or a plan changes with the circumstances. The second is about trust or something you can't manage without: I can depend on my sister; the town depends on tourism, meaning it lives on money from tourists.
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depend on + noun/person; depend on + how/whether/what + clause; depend on + person + to + verb; it depends
- Whether we go hiking on Saturday depends on the weather forecast.
- Many small hotels on the coast depend on summer tourists for most of their income.
- You can depend on Anna to check the figures before the report goes out.
What changed
First versionThe price of the tour depends from the season.
RevisionThe price of the tour depends on the season.
From may seem logical here, but when depend is followed by a thing or a person, it takes on (or upon in formal writing). Depend from is not used in English. Only the preposition was changed.
Rely on matches depend on in the second meaning: I rely on my sister and I depend on my sister say the same thing. But only depend on works for being decided by conditions: The price depends on the season. Relies on does not fit there.
Your turn
I'm not sure I can join you for dinner on Friday. It ___.
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depends — The sentence ends after the gap, and it doesn't say what things depend on. In that case, people simply say It depends. On is needed only if a condition follows: It depends on my shifts.
Write about a decision you haven't made yet: a trip, a purchase or a job change. Mention the condition that will decide it.
Whether I visit Georgia in May depends on how many days off my manager gives me.
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