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가오누 vip

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2021.08.31 04:43

Grammar lesson: If you are thinking about writing “would of”

, “could of”, or “should of” — don’t do it!


The Right Way to Spell Would of, Should of, and Could of—-

When people write would of, should of, could of, will of or might of, they are usually confusing the verb “have” with the preposition “of”. So “would of” is “would have,” “could of” is “could have”, “should of” is “should have”, “will of” is “will have,” and “might of” is “might have”:

Incorrect:
I would of come earlier, but I got stuck at work.

Correct:
He would have stayed if he’d known you were coming.

Incorrect:
You should of called yesterday.

Correct:
You should have finished your homework by now.


This common mistake is likely caused by the similar pronunciation of the words of and have, especially when have is contracted, as in should’ve. This mistake also happens with the negations of modal verbs:

Incorrect:
Stella couldn’t of known she was going to win the lottery.

Correct:
John couldn’t have come any earlier.
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Comments

  • Vano Ваня 2021.08.31 04:50

    FR
    RU

    I never made this mistake😅
  • Banu 2021.08.31 06:17

    TA
    EN

    👍
  • Ted 2021.09.01 03:08

    KR
    EN

    @가오누 Reallly useful teaching. I should have known much earlier.
  • 가오누 2021.09.05 14:10

    EN
    KR

    @Kueri good
  • 가오누 2021.09.05 14:14

    EN
    KR

    @SeeyaNN yes, when these words are in contraction form they look like this … Would have =would’ve Could have = could’ve Should have = should’ve So when you read would’ve, could’ve, and should’ve — it sounds like — would of, could of, and should of … So this is why many people might think — would of, could of, and should of is there right way but they are not grammatically correct. You’re right.
  • 가오누 2021.09.05 14:19

    EN
    KR

    @Soo yes, when these words are in contraction form they look like this … Would have =would’ve Could have = could’ve Should have = should’ve So when you read would’ve, could’ve, and should’ve — it sounds like — would of, could of, and should of … So this is why many people might think — would of, could of, and should of is right way but they are not grammatically correct when you write them this way. You should only write … Should have or should’ve Could have or could’ve Would have or would’ve But when you speak — yes, could’ve, should’ve, and would’ve SOUND like — could of , should of, and would of. I hope this helps.
  • Soo 2021.09.05 14:31

    KR
    EN

    @가오누 긴답변 고맙습니다~~😄

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