"dependent on" or "depending on" ?
*alan*
on experience".
Shouldn't that be "depending on experience"?
--
alan
Ray O'Hara
"*alan*" <in_fla...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:UpVhj.34915$JD.3...@newssvr21.news.prodigy.net...
Based on or tied too would be better.
But maybe they'll let a rookie work for free.
Robert Lieblich
>
> "*alan*" <in_fla...@hotmail.com> wrote
> > Recent job postings where I work indicate that the salaries are "dependent
> > on experience".
> > Shouldn't that be "depending on experience"?
> Based on or tied too would be better.
Hardly. "Tied to" might work, but it's still inferior to the other
two choices.
> But maybe they'll let a rookie work for free.
And starve?
Incidentally, in case the OP still wants an answer to the original
question, it's "dependent on," not "depending on."
--
Bob Lieblich, AmEclectic
When all else fails, answer the question
*alan*
"Robert Lieblich" <r_s_li...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4788D329...@yahoo.com...
> Ray O'Hara wrote:
>>
>> "*alan*" <in_fla...@hotmail.com> wrote
>
>> > Recent job postings where I work indicate that the salaries are
>> > "dependent
>> > on experience".
>
>> > Shouldn't that be "depending on experience"?
>
>> Based on or tied too would be better.
>
> Hardly. "Tied to" might work, but it's still inferior to the other
> two choices.
>
>> But maybe they'll let a rookie work for free.
>
> And starve?
>
> Incidentally, in case the OP still wants an answer to the original
> question, it's "dependent on," not "depending on."
Yes, thank you, I was still interested in an answer to the original
question.
After I'd posted the question, I checked out some references (something I
know I should have done *prior* to asking the question) and found that,
while the online Oxford Compact allowed that "dependent on" had the meanings
of "contingent on" as well as "unable to do without", it did specifically
give a phrase example of "depending on" with the meaning of "according to".
The online American Heritage, while giving both meanings for the verb
"depend", did offer a phrase example of "a grade depending on the results of
the final exam".
While it would appear that both "dependent on" and "depending on" can be
used with the meaning of contingent on or according to, a google query for
frequency of usage would seem to favor "depending on experience" over
"dependent on experience" by a ratio of 408:287.
What reason do you have for preferring "dependent on" ?
Thanks.
--
alan
Robert Lieblich
[ ... ]
> While it would appear that both "dependent on" and "depending on" can be
> used with the meaning of contingent on or according to, a google query for
> frequency of usage would seem to favor "depending on experience" over
> "dependent on experience" by a ratio of 408:287.
> What reason do you have for preferring "dependent on" ?
> Thanks.
It's a subtle matter of idiom. "Dependent on," when used specifically
as predicate adjective (and following preposition), has the sense
"relying on" or "trusting" and isn't used to mean "contingent on" or
"affected by". So the use of "dependent on" to mean something like
"contingent on" or "affected by" would sound unidiomatic to a native
speaker. You usually encounter "depending on" in sentences like "We
are depending on you to bring the dessert." In a sentence like "Good
health is dependent on proper diet and exercies," where the meaning is
not "relying on" or "trusting" or something like that, switching to
"depending on" would make the sentence unidiomatic. To make things
even more complicated, there are some sentences in which either
"depending on" or "dependent on" could be used, because either sense
will fit.
This is, as I said, a subtle point, but it comes naturally to native
speakers, and a sentence like "Good health is depending on proper diet
and exercise" would be an indication that the speaker is not a native
English speaker.
--
Bob Lieblich, AmEclectic
Depending on your understanding