Which of these are correct, and why? Suggestions for rephrasing it are also welcome.
[noun] was developed independently of [noun]
[noun] was developed independently from [noun]
[noun] was developed, independent of [noun]
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1 Answer
Independently of is correct here. To be independent of something means to not depend on it for anything essential. Hence, the following is the best choice:
[Noun] was developed independently of [noun].
Independently from is not correct usage, as well as being very uncommon. From X would indicate either coming from X or going away from X, neither of which applies here, since independence does not come or go from something.
The third option, though decipherable, does not mean exactly the same thing since independent could just as easily be referring to the [noun] as to the development, creating an ambiguity, as well as an unnecessary comma. Both of these should be avoided whenever possible.
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3Looking at your Google Ngram results, independently from is even rarer than the results indicate, since many of them are of forms similar to The two ships will proceed independently from Miami to ... Commented Aug 25, 2011 at 19:00
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1@KajMagnus While my soap box is not large enough for me to feel comfortable calling his perspective "incorrect", I think that he has been independent of his parents works just fine and is in fact more popular than his option. I simply do not see his distinction played out in everyday usage.– DanielCommented Oct 3, 2012 at 13:49
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3Yes, but looking at the Google Ngram and extrapolating into the future, 'independently from' should be just as common by 2200. ;)– acarlonCommented Jan 12, 2014 at 21:29
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Is it the same when talking about software dependencies? Commented Jul 25, 2022 at 15:52