This seems similar to 「に応じて」, especially since the English translations in sentences using 「に応じて」 often use 'based on'.
Am I correct in assuming that this grammar pattern can only be used for things that have already happened in the past, whereas 「に応じて」 is used when talking about in response to / based on things as soon as they happen?
I wouldn't say so much it is something in the past, but rather the usage.
With 基, as you pointed out, it refers to based on. Whatever it is referring to isn't something that is being reacted to, though. In order words, the target of the action is not pointed back at the original thing. Using one of the examples from this page:
Model: 「説明書に基づいて自力で本だなを組み立てた。」
Using the instruction manual, I assembled the bookshelf by myself.
Your actions of assembling the bookshelf are not pointed back at the instruction manual - the manual doesn't "receive" the action in any way.
Compare this to に応じて. The most common usage is, as you noted, "in response to"
Model: 「ソフトのよくある質問に応じる内容はこのページにあります。」
This page has the responses to frequently asked software questions.
In this case, the page includes answers/responses that deal directly with the questions. Put another way, the page is used to satisfy whatever needs the questions created.
Someone else might be able to put up a clearer explanation, but I hope this helps!
Years Studied: Too many Studying: Intermediate Japanese Revised (Plus anything I find)
Level: 876,
好 : 982
The last construction example is poorly highlighted/explained
Examples:
歴史に基づく作戦(tactics based on history)
Based on the highlighted area (not the actual Japanese) users might think that it means "History based on tactics." as the explanation states the grammar point is Based on "A" and the highlited word ("A") is tactics in this case.
Actually, that highlighting is not the grammar, it's the highlighting for unknown vocabulary on the site. I don't have that setting turned on, and there is no coloring on my page :)
Is there any difference between に基づく and and に基づいた when it comes before a noun? It certainly is not related to the tense of the sentence because there's this sentence in 新完全マスター 「今日の留学説明会では、実際の経験に基づくいい話を聞くことができた。」
