In the comics is Blade known to have a particular accent? When most English speakers use the phrase could have, they say its contraction, could’ve. Woe Is Me vs. Whoa Is Me – Which is Correct? Or is it that people have started to screw up things here. Isn't this a valid question or what? Plus, I will show you a helpful mnemonic device that you can use next time you need to choose could of or could have in your writing. Could have is a verb phrase, but of is not even a verb. "I listened and I could have heard something." Past tense could have often means you were capable (but didn't), but it may express uncertainty about whether you actually did (or unwillingness to say whether you did or didn't). Could have is often expressed as the contraction could’ve, especially in speech. Is wearing ACLU's "Let People Vote Pin" to the polling place considered electioneering? What could have gone wrong? Why do some companies choose to file for bankruptcy if it has cash to pay off its immediate debts? What is the difference between **could + have p.p. The use of ‘Could Have’ Most native English speakers use the contraction could’ve in everyday speech. Yesterday I could do that but today I cannot, YA Fiction Series: Color-coded magic system and protagonist kills brother at high school. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. What is the difference between a journal whose name ends with "Letters" versus "Reviews"? site design / logo © 2020 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under cc by-sa. Why does my model produce too good to be true output? Correct me if I am wrong. For example, we tried to borrow wheelchairs from the hospital, but because we were capable of walking they wouldn't let us have them. Did Hillary Clinton actually lose because supporters thought she would win in a landslide? (= In other words, can you think of what went wrong?) Could’ve sounds perilously like could of, however could of is not correct and should never be used. Maybe we were in a pub where they wouldn't let us smoke indoors, and we were so angry we could have walked [out] (but we didn't, because we wanted a drink more than a smoke). We could have walked." There aren’t any instances where you should find yourself using could of. is perfectly valid, given an appropriate context. I could have got good marks, but I did not labour. As the chart below makes evident, however, could of is almost never used in published English: This chart, which charts could have vs. could of, isn’t completely exhaustive since it only looks at books, but it still clearly illustrates a long-term usage trend. It's being used to indicate a (relatively low) degree of probability. Could of is a wrong form of could have. They didn't let us. There is also another use of 'could' for capability in the present tense: The bus broke down, but we could walk instead. So, 'I could have heard something' indicates that you had the opportunity to hear, but you didn't. This applies to your example: "We could have walked.". Is it possible that antimatter has positive inertial mass but negative gravitational mass? Why were Luke and Leia split up and given to two different families? rev 2020.10.27.37904, The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, English Language Learners Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site, Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, Learn more about hiring developers or posting ads with us, “Could anyone have expected that…” vs. “could anyone expect that…”, Exceptional use of could for particular occasion, Difference between “could do” and “could have done”, Difference between Could in the past and Could P.P, Difference between “Why couldn't you” and “Why couldn't you have”. Glamor or Glamour – What’s the Difference? Manager wants me to discuss my performance directly with colleagues. Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange! The tweak could also have repercussions for the ad networks and companies that help place ads on those sites, potentially cutting off their ad inventory and revenue in the process. Defendant vs. Could of and Could have are two words used in English language that have to be understood with difference. Why the down vote? Is Turkey an indispensable partner in NATO? QGIS Geopackage export of layer symbology. This is the only difference between the two terms namely could have and could of. @Noah: Idiomatically it's common to use present, ...actually, since you've got me back looking at this answer again, I think I'll have a shot at validly contextualising your second example (I doubt it's anywhere near as easy as you think!). I didn’t want to fight him, so I apologized, but I know I could have beaten him anyway. It is a mistake by careless writers that results from a misunderstanding of spoken English. Could have is a modal verb phrase. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy, Privacy Policy, and our Terms of Service. Stack Exchange network consists of 176 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Could you shed some more light on the first and second examples? If it gets any more downvotes and you don't know how to fix things, perhaps I'll edit the question to improve it. Is it could have or could of? Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. So the former sentence means that he was able to climb the mountain. I listened and I could hear something. I will outline which of these variations in correct and which you should avoid in your writing. What does could have mean? 1: Could have + past participle means that something was possible in the past, or you had the ability to do something in the past, but that you didn't do it. is a fairly straightforward usage, where "I could hear" emphasises I was able to hear more than a simple "I heard" would. "I listened and I could hear something." The reason for why of came to be used for have is that the latter word (and even more so its contracted form, seen in could’ve, should’ve, would’ve) is unstressed when spoken. Tension between "publishable" and "motivating" research topics, Mind sharing your opinions on how to proceed next? As I know we can use both structures to talk about past ability , but is there any difference between them? Capitals after a quotation when describing the quotation as having been heard, not said, I have got a car (Present Simple or Present Perfect?). This site is full of boring people. Could a top ranked GM draw against Stockfish using drawish opening lines in classical chess? It is part of the conditional past tenses of most verbs. "They didn't let us. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. You could have got success, but you didn’t try. Also, as I mentioned in the beginning, could have forms the contraction could’ve. Wellbeing or Well-Being – Which is Correct? Examples: Only a pedant would worry about mixing the tenses - you didn't touch it anyway, so it really makes no difference when you didn't do what you never did. I imagine the downvotes are because your question as presented doesn't give any meaningful context for the first two examples, which can both be valid in certain contexts. You should never use could of. How can I model a decorative serving tray? We could walk." ‘Could have’ indicates that something was possible in past, but it did not happen or was not done. If that's true then why can't we use it in the following context. We could have walked. Did the House Select committee on Assassinations come to the conclusion that JFK was "probably" eliminated as part of a conspiracy? Could’ve sounds almost exactly like the written phrase could of, but is could of grammatically correct? rev 2020.10.27.37904, The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, English Language & Usage Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site, Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, Learn more about hiring developers or posting ads with us. By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. So low, in fact, that the speaker is expressing uncertainty as to whether he did in fact hear anything or not.