Conditional verb use
When I first looked at Grammerly one of the test sentences I typed in was, "I would that the world consisted of sugar and spice and all things nice." An acceptable explanation of conditional verb use came up but one that I feel does not apply in this case. Perhaps I am being a little too demanding of automated proof reading but I deliberately used this phrase in order to test the sensativity of the system. Apart from being slightly archaic, my phrase has nothing much wrong with it, grammatically speaking.
What does the community think?
Terry Boyd
See example:
I would that the world consisted of sugar and spice and all things nice.
Terry Boyd
New member
1 answer 
I think that it is software, Terry. Software does not understand context. I disagree that your sentence is "slightly archaic." It is entirely archaic. If you are trying to test to see if it will suit your purposes, you may or may not have your answer. I would test it with a passage that matches the actual writing you intend to create. If you intend to write in an archaic manner, you won't likely find a software product that will include such constructions. For a company to be profitable, it would make sense to focus on the more common uses and needs. Would the acceptable explanation make sense if you were writing an academic paper or a novel for popular reading?
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answered Dec 22 '12 at 07:15
Patty T
Grammarly Fellow
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