 When to use depend versus depending from Espresso English net We use depend and depending when one thing is strongly affected by another thing For example, if there is a lot of rain the flowers in your garden will grow if there is no rain the flowers will not grow This means the growth of the flowers depends on the rain one thing the flowers growth is affected by another thing the rain However, a lot of students are confused about when to use depend versus depending the answer involves the grammar of each sentence Use depend or depends when it is the main verb in the sentence for example Will you go to the beach this weekend? I'm not sure it depends on the weather The subject is it and the main verb is depends Here's another example The results of the survey depend on the types of questions asked The subject is the results of the survey and the main verb is depend So when depend is the main verb it is considered a state verb not an action verb and is never used in continuous form Never say it's depending on Always say it depends on We use depending when the word begins a dependent clause This means that the sentence already has a separate subject and main verb and the dependent clause only adds some extra information For example, we're thinking about going to the beach depending on the weather The subject is we and the main verb is our thinking The word depending begins a dependent clause. It is not the main verb You can also have dependent clauses at the beginning of a sentence for example Depending on the types of questions asked the survey produces different results in this sentence The subject is the survey and the main verb is produces So as you can see we only use depending when it is not the main verb One important note is that we always say depend or depending on Never of or in There's another way to use depend or depending meaning when one person is relying on another They trust the other person and or need the other person to do something with this definition we can use depend for relying on someone in general and Depending for relying on someone right now in a specific situation For example, I don't have a car. So I depend on my colleagues to give me rides to work every day. I depend on my colleagues in general I'm depending on you to get this project done by Friday in this case I'm depending on you right now in a specific situation There are a lot of little details in English grammar and I think the best way to master it is not only to study But also to practice you can do both study and practice inside my advanced English grammar course Click on the link in the video or in the description for more information Each of the 45 lessons has clear explanations of the grammar topics plus quizzes and writing exercises To help you use the grammar yourself