AIBU to die inside a little bit every time I see 'could of'?

[MeetMeInMontauk]

Yep, it's another sanctimonious grammar-Nazi thread, so I'm going to get in early and tell all the bleeding heart virtue signallers who usually jump on these threads to do one, straight out of the gate. I'm interested in the experiences of others regarding what appears to be some sort of epidemic (at least on Facebook) or a near-ubiquitous grammatical blind spot in modern written English. For context, I live in an upcoming area of the SE but with an inescapably working class heritage and large council estate community, although this trend is by no means limited to the local FB community pages and is something that I see from even university-educated friends. How has 'could of' snuck in almost unremarked? Obviously as a corruption of the enunciation of the contraction 'could've' when spoken, but even then it makes no sense, if given even the slightest thought. Noone is saying, for example, 'Did you of one of my biscuits?', but the application of 'could of' seems almost universal in some circles. I accept that its contextual use means that nearly everyone involved understands the meaning and intent, but it's an inaccuracy that appears to be gaining continued traction. Does it make anyone else cringe, or do I just need to get back in my cage and chill the fuck out?

at BookMe. I'm from the South, too. I have some expressions in my linguistic arsenal that might give some on this thread the vapors.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/30/10-grammar-rules-you-can-forget

Mrs Superiority, surely?

Well, you know, I just find it amusing when people continue to protest about other people's SPaG whilst arguably making just as many, and at times, more serious, errors themselves.

Karmic, almost.

Great link Lurker- I've seen similar, (especially about the less/fewer conundrum) but none so comprehensive. I might print it out for my students

I do not understand ‘I was stood...’ or ‘we were sat...’. Even worse ‘We was sat...’ aaarrrrggghhhh!!!!!
Why, oh why?

I agree Commonpeoplelikeme - I recently saw 'my friends have already went to ....' and 'I would of like to of gone...'

SenecaFalls

Gotten is not a word. Please stop using it

You are wrong

Gotten is an older form and was once commonly used in - wait for it - BRITISH ENGLISH in ye olden days!!

Did she mean MURPHY?

Karmic? Hmmmmmmm
Pretentious much!?

The snobbery against "Americanisms" on MN is embarrassing.

The bitching over SPAG isn't much better.

Gotten is an older form and was once commonly used in - wait for it - BRITISH ENGLISH in ye olden days!!

And actually continues to be used in British English in words that have the same root, as in "forgotten."

There is a great deal of ignorance on MN about what has American origins. "Fall" for autumn is also an old British usage and is found in Shakespeare. "High school" comes from 16th century Scottish usage.

Also, while I'm at it, we didn't invent Halloween.

"Glass houses and Muphry strike again." ????? Goodness me. Glass houses, pots and kettles indeed Mrs. superiority!!

Did she mean MURPHY?

The superb thing about Muphry's Law is the number of people who think they have caught out people citing it in a mistake. Read and learn:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law

The superb thing...

Okaaaaaaaay.

Could/would/should of is also one of my pet hates but “we was/wasn’t we/was you” makes me want to scream!

Thank you written one word.
No, it's two words.
Thank you.

My daughter's Year 1 and 2 teacher wrote "could of" once in her exercise book. Gah!!!!!

SenecaFalls, yes that's right gotten is old English as are other words but we stopped using gotten many, many years ago and were taught at school that it's not a word we should use. It's crept, actually it has steamrolled back in due to the spread of American English especially through cinema and television.

Language evolves and that's why we no longer use words like ye and thy. It's just that language evolved much more naturally and at a slower pace until recent years. It was also taught more comprehensively so more people were aware of the correct structures, usage and spelling. Now language is changing so, so quickly. Too fast for me especially as I believe the English language is fine without all these mistakes and changes.

When people say Hallowe'en is an American thing, I believe they are referring to the commercialisation of it, the "trick or treating". Although Hallowe'en was observed in both the UK and Australia, it was much more in the traditional sense and not with all the fanfare and sweets that we see now. At least that's what I think is at the root of the comments. Growing up I only knew of trick or treat on US telly shows and in films.

People using "amount" when they should be using "number". Amount is now used so often.

"Number" is used with plural nouns i.e. things that can be counted. "Amount" is normally used for nouns that can't be measured.

So irritating that people don't know the difference and use amount all the time. "The amount of people" is a particular example that gets on my nerves.

BumDisease, no need for embarrassment. People aren't slagging off the whole nation, well at least I'm not. Just pointing out the influence perhaps even the proliferation of American English. I like the English we have and I see no need to change it to American English.

Thinking about it more, sometimes "mistakes" could just be typos. Oops, I mean typographical errors. I make them all the time. The "mistakes" could also sometimes be predictive text running amok.

Speaking of oops, I often see "opps" when I am pretty sure people have meant to type oops.

InertPotato, you're so right about BBC journalists.

When you say I'm criticising an American for having the temerity to write in her native dialect, if you're referring to my comment about my friend who's lived in Australia for more than 20 years, I should clarify...

This person works in communications for a large Australian bank whose customers are in the Australian market. To refuse to write in the accepted English in this circumstance is wrong, in my opinion. Many of my American work colleagues in London would only use American English, even though it was company policy to use British English. When I was in NY I was constantly corrected if I didn't use American English even if it was an inadvertent error. I feel a professional work environment isn't the same as day-to-day conversations so more effort is required to use the correct/local/company language.

Even trick or treating did not originate in the US. It's a form of guising, which has been a Celtic tradition at Halloween for generations, especially in Scotland.

People aren't slagging off the whole nation, well at least I'm not.

Well, perhaps you'd like to qualify your earlier post: "Any form of American spelling and grammar drives me nuts."

I'm not sure whether I use number and amount correctly. I don't remember being taught any rule about which was correct. Like most grammar, I tend to use what "feels" right. I guess most others do the same who came through the education system at the same time.