用語集
without/but for
「〜 がなければ」 を仮定法で言う句。 If it were not for ~ / If it had not been for ~ と同義。
「〜 がなければ」 を仮定法で言う句。 If it were not for ~ / If it had not been for ~ と同義。
without / but for は 「〜 がなければ」 を表す句で、 後に 仮定法 が続く。 if it were not for ~ 等への言い換えが入試頻出。
| 時 | 同義表現 |
|---|---|
| 現在 | Without ~ = If it were not for ~ = Were it not for ~ |
| 過去 | But for ~ = If it had not been for ~ = Had it not been for ~ |
例: 「Without water, no life could exist.」 (水がなければ命は存在できない)、 「But for your help, I could not have done it.」 (君の助けがなければできなかった)。
試験では without / but for を if 節に書き換える問題が定番。 現在 (were not for) と過去 (had not been for) の区別がポイント。