Learn Hardcore German: Die Entscheidung bleibt abhängig vom Geld, aber unsere Ideen sind unabhängig. - The decision remains dependent on money, but our ideas are independent.

bleibt abhängig = “remains dependent,” highlighting continuation of an existing state.
ist abhängig = “is dependent,” a neutral statement of fact. Both are correct; choose the one that matches your nuance. If you wanted “becomes dependent,” you’d use wird abhängig (become) or more idiomatically the verb phrase wird davon abhängen, e.g. Die Entscheidung wird vom Geld abhängen.

Could I say Die Entscheidung hängt vom Geld ab instead?

Yes. That’s very idiomatic.

Adjective construction: … bleibt/ist (vom Geld) abhängig.
Verb construction: … hängt (vom Geld) ab.
Both mean essentially the same; the verb phrase is extremely common.

Why vom Geld? What case does von take?

von always takes the dative.

von dem Geld (dative, neuter) routinely contracts to vom Geld.
Other common contractions: zu dem → zum, zu der → zur.
No contraction with feminine singular: von der stays von der.

Can I say abhängig von Geld without the article?

Yes, abhängig von Geld is grammatical and means “dependent on money (in general).”
Using the article (vom Geld) is very common and can sound a bit more concrete or idiomatic, often implying “the money at hand/the financial side” in context. Both are fine here.

Does unabhängig need von? Why is there no phrase like unabhängig von … in the second clause?

It doesn’t have to.

unabhängig on its own = “independent” in a general sense (“self-sufficient,” “not constrained”).
unabhängig von + Dativ specifies what something is independent of: unabhängig vom Geld / von äußeren Einflüssen.
Here, the writer states a general independence, so no von-phrase is required.

How do I say “independent of each other”?

Use voneinander:

Unsere Ideen sind voneinander unabhängig.
You can also say untereinander unabhängig, but voneinander is the standard choice.

Why aber and not sondern?

sondern is only used after a negation in the first clause and expresses correction/contrast:

Die Entscheidung ist nicht vom Geld abhängig, sondern vom Zeitplan.
Without a preceding negation, use aber for “but/however,” as in your sentence.

Is the comma before aber required?

Yes. When aber links two main clauses, German requires a comma:

…, aber …
(If aber is used as a modal particle within a single clause—e.g., Das ist aber schön!—there’s no clause boundary and no comma.)

Can I move vom Geld earlier? What about word order?

Yes. Both are correct:

Die Entscheidung bleibt abhängig vom Geld …
Die Entscheidung bleibt vom Geld abhängig …
Fronting for emphasis is also fine:
Vom Geld bleibt die Entscheidung abhängig, …
German is flexible with placement of such phrases; the finite verb still stays in second position in main clauses.

Why is it abhängig von, not abhängig an/auf?

It’s a fixed collocation: abhängig von + Dativ.

You use von for dependence/contingency.
an and auf would be wrong here (different meanings: arm/reich an, angewiesen auf, etc.).

Why die Entscheidung? Is there a gender rule here?

Yes. Nouns ending in -ung are almost always feminine: die Entscheidung.
A more formal “resolution” is der Beschluss (masculine), but Entscheidung is the general word for “decision.”

Why unsere Ideen and not unser Ideen / unseren Ideen?

Ideen is plural nominative.
Possessive determiners take the ending -e in the nominative plural: unsere Ideen.
Compare: unsere Entscheidung (feminine nominative singular) also takes -e.

Why are abhängig and unabhängig lowercase here?

They’re predicative adjectives (after sein/bleiben) and stay lowercase.
They’re capitalized only when turned into nouns: die Abhängigkeit / die Unabhängigkeit or der/die Abhängige (a dependent person).

Any pronunciation tips for words in this sentence?

abhängig / unabhängig: stress on the second syllable (-hän-), ä like the short “e” in “bet,” and final -ig is commonly pronounced like the “ich”-sound [ɪç] in standard German.
Entscheidung: ei like the “eye” in English “eye.”
Geld: short e as in “get.”
Ideen: long ee in the middle, roughly “ee-DAY-en.”

Can German present tense refer to the future here?

Yes. bleibt (present) can mean “will remain” when context implies the future. German often uses the present for near-future or planned situations.

Is there an adjective for “financially (in)dependent”?

Yes: finanziell abhängig / finanziell unabhängig.
You could also say wirtschaftlich unabhängig (“economically independent”) depending on context.

Do adjectives take endings here? Why not unabhängigen?

After linking verbs like sein/bleiben, adjectives are predicative and uninflected: sind unabhängig.
They take endings only when used attributively before a noun: unsere unabhängigen Ideen.