So it would seem

How is everyone's Christmas?

Good. Hope yours is, too!

EnchantedWhat does "So it would seem" mean?

That's certainly what the situation appears to be. There may or may not be a great deal of evidence to prove it. Sometimes we use the phrasing with "would" to indicate that it is obvious to us or that we are surprised in some way by it.

wou

"So it would seem",
What tense is it,
is it future or depend on the question?

Can we answer : So it will seem, or So it seems ?

Thank you.

pinky

silverpinkWhat tense is it,
is it future or depend on the question?

It depends on the system of tense naming you use.

By one method of classifying tenses, this would be called a conditional tense.
By another method, it would be called a modal tense.

In a way, it's not really a tense, but a "mood" -- the conditional mood.

Hi,
In my experience, 'so it would seem' usually expresses some mild degree of scepticism.

A: Tom loves Mary with all his heart.
B: So it would seem. (possibly raises an eyebrow a little as a non-verbal sign of secpticism).

Best wishes, Clive

CliveIn my experience, 'so it would seem' usually expresses some mild degree of scepticism.

That's interesting. In my experience it often expresses something obvious and thus means something like "Indeed!!!"

At a party, Tom is surrounded by people all eager to talk to him, all appearing to find him very interesting.

Bystanders:

-

A: The man's got a lot of friends.
B: So it would seem.

What does "So it would seem" mean?

It's like saying:

That's what it would seem, at least.

Or, another way to put it:

At least, that's what it seemed.

TIM

From "The Pirates of The Carribean", after Jack and Will have seized a ship.

- Commander's assistant: "That's gotta be the best pirate I've ever seen".

- Commander (with Anger): "So it would seem".

I believe the commander did not want to admit that Jack is that good of a pirate. In this case, "so it would seem" does contain a certain degree of scepticism.