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Contraposition Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Would that

Is this setence considered correct?

Would that he lived to see it.
  

Top answer

I wouldn't say that is wrong, but I prefer Would that he had lived to see it. It's clearer. Clive

— Clive

  • I wouldn't say that is wrong, but I prefer Would that he had lived to see it.
  • It's clearer.
  • Clive
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6 Answers
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I wouldn't say that is wrong,
but I prefer
Would that he had lived to see it.
It's clearer.

Clive
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It’s not a sentence. What is it supposed to mean?
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Is 'Would that he had lived to see it.' similar to
'If he had lived...' or
'If he lived...'?
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It seems this construction is before my time. A Google search led me to a slew of like "sentences". They’re alien to me. Forget I posted here.
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It’s not a sentence. What is it supposed to mean?

It's a rather literary way of expressing a strong wish.
Have a look here. Meaning 14.

http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries
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CliveIt's a rather literary way of expressing a strong wish.
Well, I’ll be. It looked like a meaningless and perhaps ungrammatical fragment to me.
CliveA slightly longer form is I would that ...
That’s more like it.
contrapositionIs this … considered correct?
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