A dependent claim references either an independent claim or a previous dependent claim. Note, in the U.S. multiply dependent claims ""as claimed in **any one of the preceding claims**" or "as claimed in **either one of claims 1 or 2**, etc." is strongly discouraged. The opposite is true in the EPO and many other places.

A dependent claim inherits all of the limitations in the independent claim at its base **and** any and all of the dependent claims in its path back to that independent claim.

If claim 1 says "an apparatus comprising A"
and claim 2 says" the apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a B".

Assume claim 3 is going to be about including a C. If you say claim 3 is "The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a C", then something with an A and a C will infringe claim 3 whether or not it has a B. If, instead, claim 3 is "The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a C", then to infringe claim 3 an item will need to have an A, a B, and a C. It just depends what you are trying to achieve with the claim.