Could have and could of - Mixed messages and misused
words from A to Z
Color me Cubbies fan. I’ve waved baseball pennants and chanted “Coulda-woulda-shoulda!”
and “Maybe next year!” with the Windy City diehards at Wrigley Field more times
than I can count.
But it’s not really
correct.
Repeat after me:
could have
should have
will have
would have
By George, I think we have it. (See? I didn’t say “got.”
But that’s another post for another day.)
Consider Adele, in her mega-hit, “Rolling In The Deep.” That’s
right. “We could have had it all.” After all, would you rather “have it”
or “of it”?
Anything goes, in
written dialogue.
A scriptwriter might choose for a character to say, “He could of been here on time. I should
of known better than to trust the likes of him. I would of never given him
a second glance, if I’d of had any idea. By the time my phone rings again, I will
of learned my lesson.”
Ouch! My ears are burning, and I’m not even reading aloud.
How about yours? And what does this language tell us about the speaker?
Image/s:
Misused word pair
Created by this user
At CoolText
Abused and misused word graphics
adapted from public domain artwork
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Just stopping by to say "hi" from the A-Z Challenge list :)
ReplyDeleteGreat theme for the challenge honey, good luck with it!
xx
Thanks for these tips-- writers need reminders from time to time.
ReplyDeleteDamyanti @Daily(w)rite
Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2013
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
Interesting that my brain heard "'ve" when reading "of". Awareness is everything ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreat theme for the A-Z challenge. I love misusing grammar to create authentic-sounding dialogue but (being a former English teacher) hate to see its misuse everywhere else. These short, pertinent reminders are therefore great. :)
ReplyDeleteI recently "spanked" an MSNBC reporter via Twitter for publishing an article online where he used the term "could of". I was so shocked and dismayed that a trained journalist could have made such a stupid mistake.
ReplyDeleteThat's another error that makes me cringe!
ReplyDeleteI hate this usage! Thanks for pointing it out!
ReplyDeleteI always type "could have," but say "could of." I need to break that habit. :/
ReplyDeleteI think 'of' is used when speaking because of the contraction of have ('ve); they sound similar. But it does make my eyes bleed when I see it written. I don't know why people do it. It doesn't make any sense!!
ReplyDeleteI'm guilty of that on occasion when I write, but that's what edits are for.:) I don't find that I do it when I speak though. Weird.
ReplyDelete