The phrase “would like it to be” expresses a desire for an alternative to an undesirable reality. It is an example of the subjunctive mood in English, which implies a hypothetical situation. Non-native speakers may find it confusing, but it is important to learn alongside the indicative mood.
The expression would like it to be implies a desirable or idealized alternative to an undesirable reality. In other words, the speaker wants a different set of circumstances or outcomes than the actual situation he or she is in. Sometimes the expression is extended to “wish it were like this” or “wish it were true”. All these variants still suggest a strong desire for at least some change in current circumstances. When a talented athlete is injured and needs to be replaced during a big game, for example, teammates might wish he was healthy enough to perform. The manager might respond with, “I wish that were the case, but we don’t have that option right now.” The speaker agrees with the sentiment, but also realizes that a desired change could not happen in reality.
Expressions like this are great examples of what English teachers call the subjunctive. A sentence written in the subjunctive mood implies a state of desire or a hypothetical situation. Many times such a sentence is preceded by words like would, could, should and if. A teacher might tell her class or her class that if school were to be canceled the next day, the students would have an extension on their projects. These are not statements based on fact, but rather conditions based on possible or hypothetical conditions. “If it were” does the same thing by implying a theoretical or hopeful condition.
Some might even read more into such a subjunctive statement. The speaker not only acknowledges a hypothetical alternative, but also suggests that the alternative would be somewhat preferable to reality. The coach would really rather have the injured player back on the roster than rely on a less experienced replacement, for example. In a sense, the speaker agrees with the conditional or hypothetical statement, but has to resign himself to a less desirable reality. If reality means a loss or setback, it wouldn’t be unusual for a person to want a viable alternative. Many people use American expressions in a wistful or nostalgic sense, hoping against hope that a situation or circumstance can be altered.
Many foreign-born speakers have difficulty understanding the concept of subjunctive in English. Many of the standard subject/verb agreement rules change whenever the sentence mood shifts to the subjunctive. The change from “was” to “were” in the expression, together with the change “would”, indicates a change from the real to the conditional, which can be very confusing for beginning and non-native English speakers. This is why most English grammar teachers train their students on the subjunctive mood along with the reality-based indicative mood. Idioms like this are ideal examples of the difference between subjunctive and indicative.
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