dipende

Dipende is the third-person singular present indicative form of the Italian verb dipendere, meaning to depend or to be contingent. It is used both in impersonal constructions and in clauses that indicate reliance on something else. The most common construction is dipende da, meaning “it depends on” (someone or something).

Etymology: Dipendere derives from Latin dependere, formed from de- plus pendere, with a sense of hanging down or being subordinate. The Italian verb preserves this sense, and the form dipende reflects regular development from the Latin root through standard Italian phonetic change.

Conjugation: Dipendere is a regular -ere verb. In the present indicative the forms are: io dipendo, tu dipendi, lui/lei dipende, noi dipendiamo, voi dipendete, loro dipendono. As a regular -ere verb, its other tenses follow typical -ere endings (for example imperfect: dipendevo, dipendevi, dipendeva, dipendevamo, dipendevate, dipendevano).

Usage notes: Dipende is versatile in everyday Italian. It can function as a complete reply, similar to “it depends.” Examples include: “Dipende dal contesto” (It depends on the context), “Dipende da cosa vuoi” (It depends on what you want). It also governs phrases with da to specify the dependency (dipende da lui, dipende da te) and can introduce subordinate clauses without a preposition, as in “Dipende se piove” (It depends if it rains).

See also: Dipendere, other Italian -ere verbs and their conjugation patterns.