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User_gary Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

had it not been

Her talent might have lain dormant had it not been for her aunt's encouragement.

I think the parts in bold is not in proper order. If you arrange them in proper order, I can guess the meaning of this sentence.
  

Top answer

I'd place the bold part in the beginning of the sentence and would add a comma after it: Had it not been for her aunt's encouragement, her talent might have lain dormant. This way it sounds okay to me.

— Ruslana

  • I'd place the bold part in the beginning of the sentence and would add a comma after it: Had it not been for her aunt's encouragement, her talent might have lain dormant.
  • This way it sounds okay to me.
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7 Answers
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I'd place the bold part in the beginning of the sentence and would add a comma after it:

Had it not been for her aunt's encouragement, her talent might have lain dormant.

This way it sounds okay to me.
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Thank you Ruslana.

No, I still can't understand this sentence. Could you tell me what "had it not been for" means?

I know usually a sentence contains "subject + verb + ***" construction. But above it is a mess.
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User_garyThank you Ruslana.

No, I still can't understand this sentence. Could you tell me what "had it not been for" means?

I know usually a sentence contains "subject + verb + ***" construction. But above it is a mess.
This is an alternative (and some would find it more sophisticated) to 'if it hadn't been for.
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Thank you friends.

If it hadn't been for her aunt's encouragement, Her talent might have lain domant.

I still can't understand what "hadn't been for". Could you explain it to me?
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In other words, she developed her talent owing to her aunt's encouragement. Her aunt's encouragement helped to develop her talent.

Hope that helps.
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Hi,

Consider a simpler example in both forms.

If I had not visited the doctor, I would have died.

Had I not visited the doctor, I would have died.

As already noted, #2 is much less common, and more literary.

You can also remove the negative. eg

If it had rained, I would have got wet.

Had it rained, I would have
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"If it had not been for X, Y would have happened" = "Without X, Y would have happened".

MrP
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