# "would it were"--huh? **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-were-huh/88799 **Category:** Factual Questions **Created:** [October 22, 2001, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-were-huh/88799 "2001-10-22T03:19:49Z") **Posts on this page:** 5 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![hegel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cab0a1/32.png) [@hegel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hegel) #### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-were-huh/88799/1 "2001-10-22T03:19:49Z")
“I would it were . . .” This use of the subjunctive baffles me. What’s it mean? Is it correct gramatically? ---
### Author: ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf) #### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-were-huh/88799/2 "2001-10-22T03:47:20Z")
😕 Context? ---
### Author: ![SolomonGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SolomonGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolomonGrundy) #### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-were-huh/88799/3 "2001-10-22T03:47:31Z")
There’s lots of implied words there: “I would prefer that it were true.” The subjunctive of “was” is “were,” so yeah, I guess it’s correct gramatically. ---
### Author: ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss) #### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-were-huh/88799/4 "2001-10-22T08:00:42Z")
Wish it was. ---
### Author: ![Mentor\_and\_Liar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mentor\_and\_Liar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mentor_and_Liar) #### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-were-huh/88799/5 "2001-10-22T13:46:42Z")
I think the phrase is “would that it were,” you can use it in place of “I wish.” If you hang with people who like to act like they read a lot of ancient English, you will look ever so cool. For bonus points, you can add as an aside “and I use the subjunctive–carefully.” with a clever little wink. Oh, you’ll be knockin’ 'em dead.