rely on someone

Meaning

This means to trust or depend on someone to do what they say they will do, or to support you when you need help. It highlights a relationship built on trust, consistency, and support.

Examples

• You can always rely on Sarah to help you move to a new apartment.

  You can always rely on Sarah to help you move to a new apartment.

• In a healthy relationship, partners need to be able to rely on each other.

  In a healthy relationship, partners need to be able to rely on each other.

• I had to rely on my brother to feed my cat while I was away.

  I had to rely on my brother to feed my cat while I was away.

• It's hard to work with people you can't rely on to finish their tasks.

  It's hard to work with people you can't rely on to finish their tasks.

• Growing up, she knew she could always rely on her parents for advice.

  Growing up, she knew she could always rely on her parents for advice.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I rely of my best friend when I have a problem.

  ✓ I rely on my best friend when I have a problem.

  The phrasal verb is always 'rely on', not 'rely of'.

• ✗ You can rely on he to keep your secret.

  ✓ You can rely on him to keep your secret.

  The preposition 'on' must be followed by an object pronoun (him, her, them, us) instead of a subject pronoun (he, she, they, we).

Related Expressions

Practice

• A true friend is someone you can ___ during difficult times.

  💡 Depend on or trust.

  Show answer

  rely on

• My car broke down, so I had to ___ my coworker for a ride.

  💡 Trust or depend on them to help.

  Show answer

  rely on