Irréel - s'il n'y avait pas ~, s'il n'y avait pas eu ~
« s'il n'y avait pas / s'il n'y avait pas eu » se rend par If it were not for / If it had not been for , et l'on peut aussi employer les formes inversées (Were it not for / Had it not been for ) ainsi que without / but f…
Explication
« s'il n'y avait pas ~ / s'il n'y avait pas eu ~ » se rend par If it were not for ~ / If it had not been for ~, et l'on peut aussi employer les formes inversées (Were it not for ~ / Had it not been for ~) ainsi que without ~ / but for ~. On suppose l'absence d'un élément pour en souligner l'importance.
A. Absence au présent — If it were not for / Were it not for / Without / But for
Pour l'irréel du présent, « si ~ n'existait pas en ce moment », la tournure de base est If it were not for ~, remplaçable par la forme inversée Were it not for ~ ou par Without ~ / But for ~. La principale qui suit enchaîne avec would / could / might + base verbale. If it were not for = Were it not for = Without = But for.
| Forme | Registre | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| If it were not for | standard | If it were not for air, we would die. |
| Were it not for | formel · écrit | Were it not for air, we would die. |
| Without | courant · oral | Without air, we would die. |
| But for | formel | But for air, we would die. |
- If it were not for coffee, I couldn't wake up. (S'il n'y avait pas le café, je n'arriverais pas à me réveiller.)
- Were it not for your patience, this project would fail. (Sans votre patience, ce projet échouerait.)
- Without the internet, life would be very different. (Sans Internet, la vie serait très différente.)
- But for the rain, we could enjoy the picnic. (S'il n'y avait pas la pluie, nous pourrions profiter du pique-nique.)
B. Absence au passé — If it had not been for / Had it not been for / Without / But for
Pour l'irréel du passé, « si ~ n'avait pas existé à ce moment-là », la tournure de base est If it had not been for ~, remplaçable par la forme inversée Had it not been for ~ ou par Without ~ / But for ~. La principale enchaîne avec would / could / might + have + participe passé. If it had not been for = Had it not been for = Without = But for.
| Forme | Registre | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| If it had not been for | standard | If it had not been for him, I would have quit. |
| Had it not been for | formel · écrit | Had it not been for him, I would have quit. |
| Without | courant · oral | Without him, I would have quit. |
| But for | formel | But for him, I would have quit. |
- If it had not been for your advice, I would have made a big mistake. (Sans vos conseils, j'aurais commis une grosse erreur.)
- Had it not been for the alarm, I would have overslept. (S'il n'y avait pas eu le réveil, j'aurais dormi trop longtemps.)
- Without her support, we couldn't have finished the project. (Sans son soutien, nous n'aurions pas pu terminer le projet.)
- But for the doctor, he might have died. (Sans ce médecin, il serait peut-être mort.)
C. Without / But for valent pour les deux temps
La forme de Without ~ / But for ~ ne dépend pas du temps : c'est uniquement le temps de l'auxiliaire de la principale qui dit s'il s'agit de l'irréel du présent ou de l'irréel du passé. would + base verbale marque l'irréel du présent, would have + participe passé l'irréel du passé.
| Auxiliaire de la principale | Interprétation | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| would / could / might + base verbale | irréel du présent | Without you, I would be lost. |
| would / could / might + have + participe passé | irréel du passé | Without you, I would have been lost. |
- Without you, my life would be empty. (Sans toi, ma vie serait vide.)
- Without you, my life would have been empty. (Sans toi, ma vie aurait été vide.)
- But for his help, I couldn't finish the work. (Sans son aide, je ne pourrais pas terminer ce travail.)
- But for his help, I couldn't have finished the work. (Sans son aide, je n'aurais pas pu terminer ce travail.)
Points clés
- 1Absence au présent = If it were not for = Were it not for = Without = But for, et la principale prend would / could / might + base verbale.
- 2Absence au passé = If it had not been for = Had it not been for = Without = But for, et la principale enchaîne avec would / could / might + have + participe passé.
- 3Without et But for ne dépendent pas du temps : c'est la forme de l'auxiliaire de la principale qui décide entre irréel du présent et irréel du passé. (ex. : Without you, I would be lost / Without you, I would have been lost)
- 4Were it not for et Had it not been for relèvent du registre formel et de l'écrit, alors qu'à l'oral Without est bien plus naturel. But for est formel, mais s'entend aussi à l'oral.
- 5À l'oral, If it wasn't for est admis, mais au registre formel la norme reste If it were not for. Il ne faut pas oublier not, comme dans If it had been for.