Is It “Could Of” or “Could Have”?
Could have is the correct spelling of this phrase. It often gets misspelled as could of because of how the contracted version of could have (could’ve) sounds when pronounced aloud.
- I could have completed that in less time.
- I could’ve completed that in less time.
“Could Of” or “Could Have”: What Is the Correct Spelling?
In English, not everything is as it appears to be. And not everything is as it sounds, either. Take a second to read the following sentence out loud:
Now take a second to read this sentence:
They sound identical, right? Phonetically, they are; grammatically, they aren’t. The first sentence correctly uses could’ve, but the second sentence incorporates the commonly incorrect phrase could of. Because could’ve sounds like you’re saying could of, many people mistakenly write could of.
✅ Could’ve
❌ Could of
Remember: could have is the only correct spelling of this phrase. LanguageTool’s Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using could have correctly.
When To Use “Could Have”
Now that we’ve gone over proper spelling, let’s go over what type of phrase could have is and what it means.
Could is a type of modal auxiliary, making could have a modal verb phrase.
It’s often used to express possibility or potential action in the past tense. In other words, it expresses a possible outcome that didn’t happen.
You’ll notice that,that as a modal verb phrase, could have is accompanied by a main verb. It should be noted that in some sentence constructions, the have in could have functions as the main verb.
In the sentence above, could have does not indicate a past capability that didn’t come true.
- We should have gone to the gathering, but we missed the train.
Should of is incorrect and should not be used in your writing.
Using “Could Have” as a Contraction
The contracted form of could have is could’ve. Remember: Contractions are shortened forms of words or phrases that use an apostrophe to signal omission or certain letters. Keep in mind that contractions are usually found in informal writing.
- If I had gotten the invitation, I would have given it to you.
The contracted form of would have is would’ve.
You Could’ve Avoided Typos, But You Didn’t Use LanguageTool
Now that we know that could have is a verb phrase, it helps to remember what types of words of and have are. Have is a verb, but of is a preposition. Knowing this, you should deduce that could of is incorrect because of is not a verb.
Want to make it even easier? Then use LanguageTool as your writing assistant. This advanced, multilingual spelling and grammar checker corrects the incorrect use of could of and other commonly used incorrect phrases.
Try it out for yourself and watch your writing skills soar!
