Could have versus could of

[Trendyname]

Could have done.✔️
could of done. Incorrect

Explanation:

Could = ability in past. Being able to in a time which is past now.

Could have = something that was possible in past.

have is followed by past participle

Past participle is what we write after have in sentences. Eg done, eaten, bought.

could have + finished
could have + gone
could have + written
could have + done

Easier way to remember is:

The ‘have done’ after could is similar to when we use ‘have done’ in a sentence like
‘I have done all my tasks for today’
or ‘ I have finished all my tasks for today’

You ‘could have picked’ some vegetables on your way home.

We never say ‘ I of done my tasks for today’ or ‘ I of finished my work’

‘Would have’ has a similar structure in the sentence, the meaning is different. I think we all know the meaning but some of us use structure wrongly.

Would have ✔️

Would of incorrect

Maybe I am AIBU to post here, but I see so many people use it incorrectly here. English is my second language, so if you find any mistakes, please go ahead and correct.

These I really don't understand, because my phone and laptop won't let me type them - doesn't everyone have auto-cunt now?

Then I also often see "in tact" instead of "intact". Why are some words joined and others separated? It's so arbitrary.

Those sorts of things really are just evolution of language though, even though they do grate on me when I see them because my brain is habituated to the other form. "Could of" is different, it's simply wrong.

It's certainly grammar/spelling when you see it written on forum posts.

Could of/might of is paling into insignificance next to the bastardisations that are:

went/gone
saw/seen
on/by
loaned/borrowed

I could have went there.
you should have saw that.
I did it on accident.
I did it on mistake.
I loaned it off her.
I borrowed it to her.

Am I a pedant or is fucked up grammar just annoying? I’m not perfect with my grammar but I feel some things are just more grating than others.

It’s also a result of teachers and broadcasters using the incorrect form

I am completely bewildered when I read it incorrectly. It wouldn't even cross my mind to say "could of".

I can see this becoming commonplace as younger people will never see let alone use a cheque and so the word itself becomes practically archaic.

I wouldn’t know what a tuppence ha’penny was if it was thrown at me so if i miss spelled it I would feel it was forgivable.

What’s ‘completely bewildering’ to you about it?

Have you ever been outside of your own community or watched TV shows where people’s accents are different to your own?

If you do this you’ll be less bewildered, because you’re more likely to understand that some people hear things differently and therefore learn them that way.

‘Could’ve’ for example is often heard as ‘could of ’ instead of ‘could have’.

I don't interpret it that way at all. Could've I just hear as a contraction of "could have".

That’s what I mean about broadening your horizons.

It’s not how I interpret it either but I don’t find it bewildering because I can understand how some other people do.

OK it's accent if they say it. If they write it then that's just wrong.

@Waitingfordoggo (and others), As PPs have said- dyslexia and other learning difficulties impact spelling
but people with dyslexia and other learning difficulties might find it hard to read
hadn’t of been, his defiantly been unreasonable or There going there in there car.

My thoughts exactly 😂

But if it's written down then how can you misinterpret it? I think we are at cross purposes here...you are talking about spoken language and I was referring to it written down....sorry if there has been confusion!

I agree.

It's depressing when it's a teacher. Glad your DS knows, did you teach him 😊

Many teachers and TAs don't speak or write correctly.

OMG - auto-cunt 😂

Classic - please know I’m laughing at the autocorrect and not at you @TheOtherAgentJohnson and really needed a little LOL today!

I am genuinely curious what they think it means. If you know what 'of' means then how does 'could of' mean anything?

I know people are going to say they just don't think about it, but how do you speak without knowing what you're saying? How do words enter a page from your hand if you don't know what they mean? I really seriously do not understand. Maybe I'm the dumb one!

If I wrote 'I of a pen to write with'..... sorry I'm baffled

Shorter way to remember: of isn't a verb.

That's just what I call auto-correct, because I call it a cunt at least daily.

It's not exactly clever to have correct grammar....low bar.

@Onthebusses , people do speak without knowing what they are saying.
That's why we get the howlers on here. Look at the viscous threads in Pedants' corner if you want examples.

@Thepeopleversuswork Anyone writing "could of" has had a substandard education or has a neurodiversity or learning difficulty such as dyslexia.
is not true.
Children today get 13 yrs of education but still many will still wrote could of. People who are not dyslexic or uneducated say and write 'could of'.

The verb 'to have' is one of the most important verbs in the English language.

Thank you. Teacher.
I'm sure most pp's are aware, as this is one of a million threads on the subject.

@JaneEyre40 @PendantScorner

It's not exactly clever to have correct grammar....low bar.

Of course it's not clever. But that's the point, surely?

Well educated people who get a little kick out of using superior spelling and grammar to put down others whose isn't up to scratch.

I know it irritates people; it irritates me. I just don't see what you're trying to achieve by pointing this out on a thread.

By definition, the people who don't understand this won't understand long screeds of explanations of the underpinning grammar. Many people don't care and others will just be belittled by it. No one is going to have a light-bulb moment around the correct use of "could of" versus "could have" because of a Mumsnet thread.

It's an exercise in getting a micro-buzz of superiority at the expense of people who haven't had the benefit of your education.

@EmeraldShamrock000 , don't exaggerate.

@Thepeopleversuswork , what exactly is "superior spelling and grammar"? Most of us will have has at least 10 years of learning English at school. Given that to have is probably the most used verb in English, it will have been taught at some point.