In "it were not for the protection" ,what is "it" refor to? and what's the meaning of "for"?
Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world;they would devour all our crops and kill our flocks and herds,if "it were not for the protection" we get from insect-eating animals.
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Answers · 5
1
if it weren't for somebody/something
the situation would have been different without someone or somethingIf it weren't for him, I would probably be living on the streets. I'd keep a garden if it weren't for having too much to do.Usage notes: also used in the form if it hadn't been for someone or something: If it hadn't been for Judy, Betsy was sure she would have left the city.
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"If it wasn't for ..." is simply a phrase for "if there wasn't/weren't ... (the protection)". So I think "it" doesn't refer to something special. I never saw a logic behind that but it sounds more sophisticated. Maybe a native speaker can explain that better.
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Yes, this is called a "dummy subject" or a "dummy pronoun." It is necessary for the grammar, but it does not have a defined referent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dummy_pronoun
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