What Does It Mean?
The phrase "depend on someone to do something" means you trust or rely on a person to carry out a specific task or responsibility.
“I depend on my assistant to manage my schedule.”
This implies that the speaker trusts their assistant to handle scheduling without constant supervision.
Structure & Usage
The standard grammatical pattern is:
Subject + depend on + person + to + base verb (infinitive)
- ✅ Correct: She depends on her brother to fix the car.
- ❌ Incorrect: She depends on her brother fixing the car.
Note: Unlike some verbs that take a gerund (-ing form), depend on is followed by an infinitive when referring to actions someone else will perform.
Common Mistakes
Many learners mistakenly use a gerund after "depend on someone":
❌ "I depend on him doing the dishes."
✅ "I depend on him to do the dishes."
❌ "I depend on him doing the dishes."
✅ "I depend on him to do the dishes."
However, note that "depend on" + gerund is used when talking about things (not people):
“Success depends on working hard.” (✓ – no person involved)
Interactive Quiz
Choose the correct sentence:
Real-Life Examples
- Parents often depend on teachers to educate their children.
- We depend on the IT team to resolve technical issues quickly.
- He depends on his roommate to pay the electricity bill on time.