When I want to say an expression (or expressions) means different things in different situations, should I say which of the following (I assume a context won't work)?
- The meaning depends on (contexts, context, the context).
For other examples:
- "I'm sorry" has different implications, depending on (contexts, context, the context)
- It depends on (contexts, context, the context) which of Expression A and Expression B is more appropriate.
There may be, again, contextual factors that affects whether the context is appropriate, but mainly I'm thinking when I answer questions asked in the generic setting (like Does expression X mean such and such?).
Best Answer
"context" or "the context" would be equally acceptable. The word is treated as uncountable.
In this case I don't really see any difference from adding the article. Omitting it is a stylistic choice. It makes the sentence a little more terse.