if it were not for
English
Alternative forms
- were it not for
- if it had not been for
Prepositional phrase
if it were not for
- If a certain condition were not met; used to indicate that a particular person, event, etc. prevented a certain outcome.
Further reading
- “were it not for”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
- “if it were not for”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary.
- “if it were not for” (US) / “if it were not for” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.