grammaticality - "If not for you" meaning


Today I have encountered a phrase:



If not for you, I would be poor.



I would think it is like "if there were not you", is it like that?


On the other hand, how would I say the following as the meaning would be different:



If not for you, whom do I cook the cake for?




Answer



The construction If not for X is an idiomatic phrase in English. The verb to be is normally left out when you use this construction, though if you restore it the full form would be:



If it were not for you, I would be poor.



However, the original version without it were is also correct:



If not for you, I would be poor.



Your version with if there were not you is grammatically incorrect. The construction There is X cannot be used with a pronoun in place of X under most circumstances.


Your example sentence If not for you, whom do I cook the cake for? is also correct, but this is a completely different construction which superficially resembles the one in your question.


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