I have trouble understanding this phrase "If for no other reason (than)…"
Actually I've seen the same question being asked on the web, but I still don't quite get it. Here are some usage examples that I have seen so far:
- He will have an honored place in history if for no other reason than that he and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev refused to use force to preserve the Soviet empire.
- There is some value in helping kids understand how coats work, Grotzer says — if for no other reason than the science is useful.
- I understand that John’s living up there now as well and, if for no other reason I should go up and visit everybody, while he’s there.
I understand that the phrase implies that the speaker thinks whatever the reason mentioned here is not the ONLY SINGLE reason. So in a nutshell, is the speaker saying that "there could be some other reasons but the major reason is ……"?
Best Answer
The phrase if for no other reason than simply means that what you're talking about is alone or already a good enough reason to do something. Let's take a look at a couple of examples:
What this sentence says is that even if you're never going to use English in your life, studying it is still going to be useful because it will at the very least make an educated person out of you. And that's alone or already a good enough reason to spend your time and effort studying it.
There might be some other considerations as to why he should have an honored place in history, but the fact that he and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev refused to use force to preserve the Soviet Union is alone or already a good enough reason why he deserves to be remembered as a very important historical figure.