Depende.

Depende is the third-person singular present tense of the verb depender, which means to depend.

So:

• dependo = I depend
• dependes = you depend
• depende = he/she/it depends or you (formal) depend

In the sentence Depende., the understood meaning is usually It depends.

Spanish often drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form. This is very normal.

So instead of saying:

• Eso depende.
• Ello depende.

Spanish usually just says:

• Depende.

The verb ending already tells you it is third-person singular, so the subject does not need to be stated.

The full verb pattern is usually depender de = to depend on.

Examples:

• Depende del tiempo. = It depends on the weather.
• Depende de ti. = It depends on you.

But in conversation, Spanish can use Depende. by itself, just like English uses It depends. The missing information is understood from the context.

So:

• Depende. = complete, natural answer
• Depende de... = used when you want to add what it depends on

In Spain, depende is pronounced approximately de-PEN-de.

A simple guide:

• de = like deh
• pen = stress is here: PEN
• de = deh

So the stress is on the second syllable:

• de-PEN-de

A more detailed note:

• The d between vowels in Spanish is often pronounced softly, not like a strong English d.
• The final e is always pronounced, unlike in English.

It is neutral. You can use Depende. in both informal and formal situations.

For example, it works in:

• casual conversation with friends
• workplace conversation
• polite discussion

If you want to sound a bit fuller or more polite, you might expand it:

• Depende de la situación.
• Bueno, depende.

But Depende. by itself is perfectly normal and natural.

Yes, grammatically it can, because depende is also the form for usted depende.

But in real life, when Depende. appears alone, it almost always means:

• It depends.

If you wanted you depend, you would normally need context or extra words:

• Usted depende de su equipo. = You depend on your team.

So as a standalone sentence, learners should usually understand Depende. as It depends.

Then the verb changes.

Examples:

• Depende. = It depends.
• Dependen. = They depend / Things depend

For example:

• Las fechas dependen del profesor. = The dates depend on the teacher.

So depende is singular, while dependen is plural.

Very common continuations are:

• Depende de ti. = It depends on you.
• Depende del tiempo. = It depends on the weather.
• Depende de la situación. = It depends on the situation.
• Depende de si vienes o no. = It depends on whether you come or not.

A useful pattern to remember is:

• depender de + noun/pronoun
• depender de si + clause

So Depende. is often just the short version of a longer idea.

Yes, very natural.

If someone asks a question like:

• ¿Vamos mañana?
• ¿Es fácil?
• ¿Te gusta vivir allí?

You can answer:

• Depende.

That sounds just as normal as It depends. in English. It is a very common everyday response.

Yes: the normal preposition is de, not en or another preposition.

So you say:

• depender de algo
• depender de alguien

Examples:

• Depende de mí.
• Depende de ellos.
• Todo depende de eso.

This is worth memorising as a fixed pattern:

• depender de

The main difference is that Spanish usually does not include the subject it.

English:

• It depends.

Spanish:

• Depende.

So the idea is the same, but Spanish is more compact because subject pronouns are often omitted.

Also, Spanish learners should remember that depende comes from the infinitive depender, so it follows Spanish verb conjugation rules rather than copying English structure word for word.