I heard someone actually say "would of"

[WinterKitchen]

I thought people wrote it because they say "would've" but aren't very good at spelling. I never thought people actually said it but it seems they do.

Hm does it sound very different to 'would've'? I've just said both out loud several times in my kitchen 😂I think they sound the same?

It did, she said it clearly as two distinct words.

I've also heard people say it in Brighton a few times in the last month or so.

People at my work say this A LOT.

I've heard it spoken clearly as of rather than 've.

I of heard.................................................. We of heard
You (singular) of heard..............................You (plural) of heard
He, she, it of heard................................... They of heard

If they think it’s correct when they’re writing it they’ll think it’s correct when they’re saying it too.

Oh God, people are always saying "would of".
I hear it a lot.
Absolutely unbearable.
I bristle every time.

You actually thought that everyone knew it was have but didn't know how to spell it? You must mix in very well spoken circles if you've never heard anyone say would of 😁

That's Brighton for you, full of dope heads.

Stephen Mulhern says it all the time on Deal Or No Deal - "Your offer would of been...".

We love DOND and Stephen - except for that one truly infuriating thing!

A couple of years ago a prominent, seasoned top-flight mainstream British journalist did this. On their regular slot on a national current affairs TV show, they said of a politician "He should of condemned it". Emphasising their point, they enunciated each word clearly and separately. This left absolutely no doubt of the error. I was amazed.

Of is 'ov', 've is 'uv'. @Pootles34 . Of can sound like uv depending on the other words e.g. Duke 'uv' Edinburgh.

What OP is referring to is when someone says quite distinctly 'Wood ov dun it'.

should've
uk
/ˈʃʊd.əv/ us
/ˈʃʊd.əv/

Of isn't an auxilliary verb, it's a preposition.

I've always assumed people write it because that's what they think people say. That's how they hear it. It hadn't occurred to me anyone would see it as a spelling issue.

I know a couple of people who say "Would of" and "Could of". They're both in their 30s - not "old school" like me.

I say of as uv.

@Ddakji , Even if you say 'Of course'?

It used to be marginal as to whether people were saying woulduhv but their accent made it sound like of. Not so now, I hear a very clear would of, quite often. Which makes me wonder if they would say, for example:
I of been to the shops today.
Which, in turn, makes me think of Jesse’s Diets:
This week, I are mostly eating taramasalata.

I’m saying saying it out loud in my living room like a loon 🤣.

Yes, probably. RP accent, we like to swallow our vowels 🤣.

I do. It feels quite unnatural to form a proper 'o' to say that.

Two of my team have post-its stuck to their screens saying ‘Would HAVE, could HAVE, should HAVE’ because I’m tired of correcting the same things over and over in copy they write. It boils my blood.

Quite common to say would of in London and Southern England. I hear it a lot in my public facing job. It annoys me too but it's a regional saying.

I had a former flatmate who regularly said "would of went". "I would of went with you if I knew you were stopping at the pub..." Problematic.

(It was really hard to type this because autocorrect keeps changing "would of" to "would have".... but it didn't change "went" to "gone".)

Edited because it did it again.

Jodie (Whittaker?) said it as Dr Who. I was horrified. The Doctor wouldn't have made such a an error!

It most definitely is not a regional saying.

It is poor grammar and shows a lack of understanding of what they are trying to say.