“I could of finished earlier if I'd started sooner.”
Misused Entry 120 / 1011 60-second read
Could Of vs. Could Have
'Could of' is always wrong. It sounds like 'could've' but the correct form is 'could have'.
The comparisoni
“I could have finished earlier if I'd started sooner.”
More examplesii
01
We could of avoided this issue.
We could have avoided this issue.
02
u should of told me lol
u should've told me lol
03
The study would of produced different results.
The study would have produced different results.
The ruleiii
¶
Could of / Would of / Should of — always wrong.
The contraction 'could've' sounds exactly like 'could of' in speech, causing people to write the wrong form.
Memory aidiv
Remember it like this
Ask: does it contain a verb? Could HAVE — 'have' is a verb. 'Of' is never a verb. Could + verb = could have.