There are many times when I’m asked a question and the answer isn’t an easy yes or no.  Japanese understand ‘Case by Case’ as a loan expression, and it can be used to simply express ‘It depends’.  The actual grammar point to more accurately expressed ‘depending on’ in Japanese is as follows.  The translations of the sentences aren’t as clear cut, so I included two translations for each sentence.  Whatever appears before によって is the variable, and the part that appears after is the result.  違う (ちがう) is a very common and simple ending which means ‘is different’.

Nounによって – depending on ~
人によって違えます。 It depends on the person./It’s different from person to person.
天気によっていろいろできる事がある。 There’s lots we can do depending on the weather./There are many different things we can do depending on the weather.

Now it’s your turn!  Write a comment using the grammar point.  Let’s try a fill in the blanks.

Topic は Variable によって違います。