Grammar rules for dependant and dependent

When do you write dependent with an e, and when is it dependant with an a?

And what about co-dependent?

Well, let me ask you, would you call an ant a real person? If so, it’s easy to remember!

Dependant with an a

dependant = ant = person = a child or other person who depends on you for living their whole life.

They could depend on you for money/financial needs, for love, for a place to live, etc.

For example:

It may sound morbid, but you should make sure your Will is up-to-date, to financially protect your dependants just in case you die this year.

Your dependant can usually also receive your superannuation when you die, but you need to make sure you tell your super fund who your dependants are. 🤔

Dependent with an e

dependent = no ants = describing something that’s not people = adjective generally meaning something depends on something else.

For example:

This blog is dependent on me writing posts and scheduling them to go live. 😳

What about co-dependent?

co-dependent = no ants = describing behaviour = adjective meaning something or someone is dependent on something/someone that is also dependent on that first something/someone.

For example:

The cat in the picture below depends on their loving cat owner human to feed them, and the human depends on having a cat to pat. This is co-dependent behaviour.

Or we could say that the cat is a dependant of the person… (You just need to think of cats as people.)

Image source: icanhascheezburger.com.

And just for good measure, here is one of my dependants, my cat Pancake. She depends on me for food, shelter, pats, catnip, and more.

Kiddo and I adopted Pancake a year and a half ago, and we love her so much. 😍🐈🐾🥰

Looking for a local shelter that makes it easy to adopt your fur-ever friend? We adopted Pancake from the Animal Welfare League QLD.

This post is not sponsored by them – I just loved how easy they made the process!