看到如此一个句子：
If it not for your help, I really don’t what I’d have done. 要不是你的帮忙，我真不知会弄成什么样子。
这里难道不是应该用 If it hadn’t been for your help 吗？为何用 if it not for your help 呢？难道是 If it hadn’t been for…可以简化为 if not for…吗?
▲英语完全可以说 if not for…，依据状况可视为 if it hadn’t been for…或if it were not for…的省略形式。譬如《柯林斯英语词典》在介词词条就有如下使用方法介绍：
For is used in conditional sentences, in expressions such as “if not for” and “were it not for’, to introduce the only thing which prevents the main part of the sentence from being true.
If not for John, Brian wouldn’t have learned the truth.要不是由于约翰，布赖恩也不可能了解真相。
The earth would be a frozen ball if it were not for the radiant heat of the sun.假如没太阳辐射的热量，地球就会变成一个冰球。
She might have forgotten her completely had it not been for recurrent nightmares. 要不是由于反复做噩梦，她可能已经把她彻底忘了。
▲上面的 If not for John, Brian wouldn’t have learned the truth. 就等于 If it hadn’t been for John, Brian wouldn’t have learned the truth.
