Could have versus could of

We went on holiday years ago. There was a sign on the door to the swimming pool saying "No outdoor shoes aloud"
DS, who was about 5, said to the man on the door "can I wear my shoes if they are quiet?"
The man was oblivious as to what he meant.

In my accent of = ov; 've = uh-v

Off is different to both but shouldn't be adding to any confusion I wouldn't have (of) thought.

Of is always pronounced ov.

Off is pronounced with an f, rather than a v, sound.

Oh no...please don't say that! I can't bear it!

Agreed.

I think it's a lost cause myself.

Haha! No II absolutely do not! And never would of written that ever :) :)

I hope you don't mean that @VeryQuaintIrene .

@SquaredPaper , it's people not realising that what they hear as 'could of' is 'could've',and they don't realise that 'could of' doesn't make sense.

‘Could have’ IS correct. Are you thinking ‘could of’ is the correct term?

Yes, but I think the point people are making is that the mistake comes from a misunderstanding of what the contraction ‘could’ve’ is a contraction of.

People are saying ‘I could of gone’ because they think that’s what someone saying ‘I could’ve gone’ is saying — only now it’s gone viral. People hear the wrong version everywhere and see it written down.

In my accent (RP/London) they sound completely the same, so it probably is regional. That said, "could have" is never, ever right and it's not really hard to get it right. Some things in English are trickier (apostrophes, for example) but this is not that.

@NamelessNancy , it is jarring, and it is distinctly different. They definitely are not saying 'could've, they are saying 'could of'.

Maybe it's regional? It's distinctly different the way I would say them and "could of" is very jarring.

@VeryQuaintIrene I don't think you understood my post. It depends on how you say of.
If you say of as uv, 've and of sound the same. if you say of as ov, they don't.

I have heard far too many say could of as kʊd ɒv as opposed to kʊd əv.

I don't think that's true at all. I am sure that when I say "could've" it sounds pretty much the same as if I were saying "could of", which I never would do in a million years.

If you look at his speeches, they’re powerful because of their simplicity (which might and taken more effort to achieve than a convoluted style!).

Another example of superb English style is the narration of the old documentary series The World at War. Simple, powerful, spare and moving - written by the historian Neal Ascherson.

@dcsp , "could of" and "could've" sound identical,
Debatable. It does if you say of as 'uv'.

Those who say 'could of' clearly say 'ov'.

I think Winston Churchill said that in terms of good style, English words were better than foreign words and short words better than long ones.
I don't know if he actually said it, but that was his style in both writing and speech.
With style, you pitch it to your audience, so you use words and language that the reader or listener can understand clearly.

@Trendyname when you say:
"Could have done.✔️
could of done. Incorrect"

Do you mean in written or spoken English?

In written English, you're 100% correct, but In spoken English, "could of" and "could've" sound identical, and "could've" is perfectly correct.

I think Winston Churchill said that in terms of good style, English words were better than foreign words and short words better than long ones.

Before anyone jumps in, in this context ‘foreign’ words refers to words of Latin or French origin (things like drink instead of imbibe, or try instead of endeavour etc).

I think he was right. For pps saying they don’t use long words, no problem. They don’t necessarily make for a good English style.

My husband is one of those who was not given basic literacy skills as part of his education for various reasons. 'Could of' etc. are perfectly normal for him, along with many other hideous, faintmaking bastardisations of the English language - however we regularly joke about the fact that it's his skills bringing the big money into this house. I'm well educated and an academic snob but I appreciate him as he is. He's a tradesman - a very successful one. He's far from stupid but his intelligence is not the academic kind. He's not ashamed of this and neither am I which is why we can joke about the gap between us educationally. However he is very aware of how other people judge him, and they definitely do. He knows there's a significant proportion of society that looks down upon him for his lack of language skills and doesn't see past that, so while he knows he has nothing to be ashamed of, he also is very clear that he doesn't want our daughters to grow up speaking, writing and communicating as he does. Whether we like it or not and whether it's justifiable or not, we are all judged on how we present ourselves and our oral and written communications are part of that.

Dyslexia is one problem, no arguments there. Poor education is part of it too but that can be corrected later on and I'm not judging these people poorly. Unfortunately wilful ignorance and a kind of inverse snobbery are a large part of the problem. There's some kind of strange subset of society that has grown to take pride in being 'thick'. I do judge those people and don't feel bad about it.

It’s a common mistake, caused by the very commonly used verbal contraction “would’ve”…

Do teachers not correct pupils if they use 'of' incorrectly? Are exam papers marked down if there are grammatical errors?

I have seen threads if Mumsnet when someone corrects spelling/grammar and posters rush to the defence of the person making the mistakes. One such thread and the OP wanted to go to university to study councilling. Yes it should be counselling.

Poor standards are accepted now and it even seems to be a badge of honour. Just look at TV announcers and adverts and compare the spoken language to a few decades ago. No I am not referring to regional accents but poor grammar and pronunciation.

It is never could of, so there is nothing to remember

I'm just questioning the motives of people who start grammar threads on Mumsnet. preaching to the choir and talking to themselves
I agree with you.
Threads in Pedants' corner are OK.