Predicated On: Standard Pattern
Predicated On: Standard Pattern records the directly documented construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced complement pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.
Use “be predicated on” when an idea, forecast, argument, or plan depends on the existence or truth of something.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| idea, forecast, argument, or plan depends on a condition/premise | be predicated on + basis | Use the documented “on” construction. |
| basis is left implicit | predicated, if context supplies the basis | Do not invent an unnecessary complement. |
| different formal phrasing | check the complete construction | This page does not claim every possible variant is universally wrong. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you naming the premise or condition on which an idea, forecast, argument, or plan depends?
If yes: Use “be predicated on” before that basis.
If no: Use the construction appropriate to the sentence if the basis is implicit or expressed differently.
Examples
The forecast is predicated on steady demand.
“On” introduces the condition on which the forecast depends.
Their argument was predicated on two assumptions.
The assumptions are the basis of the argument.
The plan remains predicated on continued access.
The construction marks the condition on which the plan depends.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “be predicated on” when an idea, forecast, argument, or plan depends on the existence or truth of something.
Style Boundary
This guide records the directly documented “on” construction and does not turn corpus variants into a universal rule about every possible formal phrasing.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- PREDICATED | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press & Assessment · Cambridge dictionary evidence for be predicated on something as a documented construction.