〜にしたがって

About

「に従したがって」 is a combination of the て form of the verb 従したがう, "to obey; to follow", and the に particle. ～に従したがって is formal in tone, and can be made even more formal via its stem form: ～にしたがい.

～に従したがって has two main usages: ① "X changes in accordance with Y" (usually kana), and ② "To do X according to Y" (verbal usage, usually appears in kanji). This entry concerns usage ①.

Usage ① of ～にしたがって may follow either verbs or nouns.

E.g. 客きゃくが増ふえるにしたがって、半田はんだの緊張きんちょうも高たかまってきた。 "Handa's nervousness grew in accordance with the increase in customers."

E.g. 近代化きんだいかにしたがって、テクノロジーも進化しんかしてきました。 "Technology has advanced in accordance with modernization."

Compared to ～につれて, ～にしたがって can be used with multidirectional change, with statements featuring the speaker's intent or will, and places slightly more emphasis on what follows it (rather than what comes before).

Summary

• 

  ～に従したがって is formal in tone

• 

  ～に従したがって has two main usages:

• 

  ① "X changes in accordance with Y" (usually kana)

• 

  ② "To do X according to Y" (verbal usage, usually appears in kanji)

• 

  Usage ① of ～にしたがって may follow either verbs or nouns