Irreal - si no hubiera ~, si no hubiera habido ~
«Si no fuera por / Si no hubiera sido por » se expresa con If it were not for / If it had not been for , y admite la forma con inversión (Were it not for / Had it not been for ) y también without / but for .
Explicación
«Si no fuera por ~ / Si no hubiera sido por ~» se expresa con If it were not for ~ / If it had not been for ~, y admite la forma con inversión (Were it not for ~ / Had it not been for ~) y también without ~ / but for ~. Se supone que algo no existe para subrayar su importancia.
A. Si ahora no existiera — If it were not for / Were it not for / Without / But for
Lo contrario de un hecho presente, «si ahora no existiera ~», tiene como forma base la construcción If it were not for ~, que se puede cambiar por la inversión Were it not for ~ o por Without ~ / But for ~. En la oración principal que sigue viene would / could / might + forma base. If it were not for = Were it not for = Without = But for.
| Forma | Registro | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| If it were not for | estándar | If it were not for air, we would die. |
| Were it not for | formal y escrito | Were it not for air, we would die. |
| Without | coloquial | Without air, we would die. |
| But for | formal | But for air, we would die. |
- If it were not for coffee, I couldn't wake up. (Si no fuera por el café, no podría despertarme.)
- Were it not for your patience, this project would fail. (Si no fuera por tu paciencia, este proyecto fracasaría.)
- Without the internet, life would be very different. (Sin internet, la vida sería muy distinta.)
- But for the rain, we could enjoy the picnic. (Si no fuera por la lluvia, podríamos disfrutar del picnic.)
B. Si en el pasado no hubiera existido — If it had not been for / Had it not been for / Without / But for
Lo contrario de un hecho pasado, «si entonces no hubiera existido ~», tiene como forma base la construcción If it had not been for ~, que se puede cambiar por la inversión Had it not been for ~ o por Without ~ / But for ~. En la oración principal sigue would / could / might + have + participio pasado. If it had not been for = Had it not been for = Without = But for.
| Forma | Registro | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| If it had not been for | estándar | If it had not been for him, I would have quit. |
| Had it not been for | formal y escrito | Had it not been for him, I would have quit. |
| Without | coloquial | Without him, I would have quit. |
| But for | formal | But for him, I would have quit. |
- If it had not been for your advice, I would have made a big mistake. (Si no hubiera sido por tu consejo, habría cometido un gran error.)
- Had it not been for the alarm, I would have overslept. (Si no hubiera sido por la alarma, me habría quedado dormido.)
- Without her support, we couldn't have finished the project. (Sin su apoyo, no habríamos podido terminar el proyecto.)
- But for the doctor, he might have died. (Si no hubiera sido por el médico, podría haber muerto.)
C. Without / But for sirven para los dos tiempos
Without ~ / But for ~ tienen una forma independiente del tiempo verbal, así que si se opone al presente o al pasado se decide únicamente por el tiempo del auxiliar de la oración principal. Con would + forma base es lo contrario del presente; con would have + participio pasado, lo contrario del pasado.
| Auxiliar de la principal | Tiempo que indica | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| would / could / might + forma base | contrario del presente | Without you, I would be lost. |
| would / could / might + have + participio | contrario del pasado | Without you, I would have been lost. |
- Without you, my life would be empty. (Sin ti, mi vida estaría vacía.)
- Without you, my life would have been empty. (Sin ti, mi vida habría estado vacía.)
- But for his help, I couldn't finish the work. (Si no fuera por su ayuda, no podría terminar el trabajo.)
- But for his help, I couldn't have finished the work. (Si no hubiera sido por su ayuda, no habría podido terminar el trabajo.)
Ideas clave
- 1Si ahora no existiera = If it were not for = Were it not for = Without = But for, y en la oración principal viene would / could / might + forma base.
- 2Si en el pasado no hubiera existido = If it had not been for = Had it not been for = Without = But for, y en la oración principal sigue would / could / might + have + participio pasado.
- 3Without y But for son independientes del tiempo verbal: si se opone al presente o al pasado lo decide la forma del auxiliar de la oración principal. (Ej.: Without you, I would be lost / Without you, I would have been lost)
- 4Were it not for y Had it not been for pertenecen al registro formal y escrito; en la conversación Without resulta mucho más natural. But for es formal, pero también aparece a veces en la conversación.
- 5If it wasn't for se admite en la conversación, pero en registro formal la regla es If it were not for. No se puede omitir el not, como en If it had been for.