It's "could have been", not "could of been"

Rob0729 · Jul 6, 2015

Off The Grid said:
Wrong. Sorry, Rob, but you are dead wrong. Respectfully submitted.

What is so damned difficult about typing "could've"???

Unless you are calling someone else for being stupid or something like that, I just don't give a crap about grammar or spelling on a message board. Maybe it is just me.

Maybe it is because I so desperately want to write "supposably" instead of "supposedly".

Joker · Jul 6, 2015

Froob said:
Grammar is arbitrary

No she's not...Granma is dead...long time now...

ctpatsfan77 · Jul 6, 2015

Off The Grid said:
In that vein: If you're feeling suicidal but need an hand, catch me in a Bar and say "From Whence".

Gets me all Stabby just typing that.

Whence means "from where."

Therefore, "From Whence" ~ I'm getting that Stabby Feeling again ~ means "from from where."

As in: "From whence did you buy that Tuna Fish?"

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. . . .
—KJV, Psalm 121

Hoodie · Jul 6, 2015

Here's mine -- It seems to be a southern or midwest thing, I don't hear it that often in New England.
"He drug his feet across the line." It makes me insane and you hear it a lot from the NFL color guys.

Zeus · Jul 6, 2015

Since we are indulging in recreational complaining about the brutalization of the English language -

"Hopefully, the dog will come home" means that the dog will come home full of hope. It does not mean "I hope the dog will come home" which is likely what the speaker was intending to communicate.

"If you need anything else, my name is Jennifer". This raises (but most definitely does not beg) the question of what the speaker's name is if I do not need anything else.

There. I feel better now (even if no one else does).

Jackson 2 · Jul 6, 2015

It's evidence of laziness and a lack of self-discipline, in my opinion. I think most of us, at times, make grammatical and/or punctuation errors due to carelessness or auto-correct issues. I'm irritated, albeit mildly, by consistent errors such as the "would of" rather than "would have" mistake. It shouldn't happen repeatedly, but it does.

PatsFanInVa · Jul 6, 2015

Oswlek said:
This is used so often now that they have actually amended most dictionaries, like so:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/literally

4.
in effect; in substance; very nearly; virtually:
I literally died when she walked out on stage in that costume.

Has there ever been another example of the complete opposite meaning becoming acceptable like that? It is simply remarkable.

Has there? I could care less

(And I am sure that descriptivist usage guides accept "I could care less" in much the same way that some dictionaries accept this use of "literally.")

I actually piled on that post just so I could say "one in the same."

ctpatsfan77 said:
To be fair, Rob is correct in the sense that there is no English-language equivalent of the Académie Française to dictate how English should be written, let alone spoken. (There is a notion of Standard Written English, but that is more of a consensus than a dictate; and while "I ain't goin'" isn't correct grammar in Written English, it's perfectly understandable when spoken allowed.)

I agree with you, however, that there is no logical grammatical sense in which "could of" is acceptable.

"Could have" and "could of" doesn't need the equivalent of the Académie Française. We do have a tension between prescriptivist and descriptivist schools, but it would take big brass hairy ones to submit an article to the New Yorker or to an academic publication with "could of." The MLA, AP, Chicago, and NYT gangs would all hunt you down like you were the Warriors.

http://www.theonion.com/article/4-copy-editors-killed-in-ongoing-ap-style-chicago--30806

NEW YORK—Law enforcement officials confirmed Friday that four more copy editors were killed this week amid ongoing violence between two rival gangs divided by their loyalties to the The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual Of Style. “At this time we have reason to believe the killings were gang-related and carried out by adherents of both the AP and Chicago styles, part of a vicious, bloody feud to establish control over the grammar and usage guidelines governing American English,” said FBI spokesman Paul Holstein, showing reporters graffiti tags in which the word “anti-social” had been corrected to read “antisocial.”

PatsFanInVa · Jul 6, 2015

PatriotsReign said:
One of my pet peeves is [FYP] people that say "I pride myself in.....". When the correct grammar is "I take pride in the fact.....". But I think the dictionary changed the word "pride" from strictly a noun to a noun and verb.

So go fuggn pride yourself!!

I'm only in my 50s, but I think people could "pride themselves" in things my whole life.

But it's interesting to literally (yes, literally) watch a rule of usage go out the window.

Faulty parallelism always seemed like a total howler to me. Then maybe in the 1980s or so, it suddenly became okay:

E.g., "So if you want value, quality, and you don't have time to waste..."

(The "faulty" part is that "want" doesn't apply to "you don't have time to waste," so you need another construction, or you have to stick an "and" between "value" and "quality," not a comma.)

One construction that's harmless enough, but that I have literally watched become mainstream in spoken English in the last 10 years, is beginning an interview response with "so":

Q: What gave you the idea for this invention?
A: So I was looking at the floor-plans of my new house, and I realized that the bathroom was in the wrong place... (etc.)

The "So" begins so many responses on talk shows and the like that it seems like it's always been there. But I swear I remember a time when it wasn't.

PatsFanInVa · Jul 6, 2015

ctpatsfan77 said:
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. . . .
—KJV, Psalm 121

AE Houseman did not share this problem with King James... but I don't know about "sprung"

Here dead we lie
Because we did not choose
To live and shame the land
From which we sprung.

Life, to be sure,
Is nothing much to lose,
But young men think it is,
And we were young.

PatsFanInVa · Jul 6, 2015

And another damn thing...

"If he were a receiver, he might have broken the record."
not
"If he was a receiver, he might have (or "might of") broken the record."

Tony2046 · Jul 6, 2015

BradyFTW! said:
Muphry's Law is coming to claim you all, soon enough.

I guess someone thought that was useful. haha. I hope they didn't take that literally or should I say figuratively? I don't know anymore after reading this thread.

Joker · Jul 6, 2015

So...what about the even more pressing problem of MY slow ,inexorable trudge into oblivion, huh?

buncha heartless p.c. monsters in this thread...

The Gr8est · Jul 6, 2015

Joker said:
So...what about the even more pressing problem of MY slow ,inexorable trudge into oblivion, huh?

buncha heartless p.c. monsters in this thread...

Joker, if you are trudging into oblivion I'd say it's oblivion that needs to be worried.

YOUGOTMOSSED · Jul 6, 2015

Zeus said:
Since we are indulging in recreational complaining about the brutalization of the English language -

"Hopefully, the dog will come home" means that the dog will come home full of hope. It does not mean "I hope the dog will come home" which is likely what the speaker was intending to communicate.

"If you need anything else, my name is Jennifer". This raises (but most definitely does not beg) the question of what the speaker's name is if I do not need anything else.

There. I feel better now (even if no one else does).

"Hopefully," as used in that sentence, is an adverb not modifying anything.

One of my favorites is when someone offers the "honest truth" to seem extra sincere. "You want the honest truth?" No, that's okay. I'll settle for the dishonest truth.

raduray · Jul 6, 2015

Jackson 2 said:
It's evidence of laziness and a lack of self-discipline, in my opinion. I think most of us, at times, make grammatical and/or punctuation errors due to carelessness or auto-correct issues. I'm irritated, albeit mildly, by consistent errors such as the "would of" rather than "would have" mistake. It shouldn't happen repeatedly, but it does.

I actually think the use of "would of" is due to a general lack of awareness.

PatsFanInVa · Jul 6, 2015

YOUGOTMOSSED said:
One of my favorites is when someone offers the "honest truth" to seem extra sincere. "You want the honest truth?" No, that's okay. I'll settle for the dishonest truth.

Now you done opened up the redundancy topic about redundancy...

Of course, even without redundancy, the whole "To be honest..." construction makes you wonder what any preceding opinions were....

Edit:

You Can't Handle The Honest Truth!

Tony2046 · Jul 6, 2015

So, I have literally read just about every comment in this thread. I could of read them all but past up on a few cause I ran out of time. Didjah understand that? Did I hit any nerves?

I grew up in a blue collar house hold and the idear behind the thought was what was important. Proper english or proper grammar was not a high priority and therefore I grew up using many of the grammar deficient phrases stated on this thread. My fathah was born and raised in an extremely poor household in northern NH. Built his first bike from parts from the junk "yahd" among other things and although he joined the Air Force without a high school diploma he went on to serve 30 years and retiring and earning two master degrees along the way. He improved his grammar but never lost his regional accent nor stopped using colloquial phrases because it was a part of who he was and where he was from. The idea behind the term grammar police is not for someone who (or is it whom?) politely corrects your grammar it is for those who act like snobs and think that speaking english in any way other than proper shows lack or class, respect or intelligence. Colloquial phrases or improper usage of the language can be cultural and rooted to the identity of a person from a particular region just as it is around the rest of the world. The best thing I got from my fathah wasn't a grammar lesson rather it was to be yourself, be honest and be respectful. I honestly do not care how someone phrases a statement or question when we are in a conversation because I am searching for the meaning or the idea behind it which more often than not can lead to something positive. Grammar is important but more important is the idea or message that man/woman is trying to convey.

PatsFanInVa · Jul 6, 2015

Also: I have determined that any time someone asks if I know what they're saying, it's likely the case that they don't know what they're saying, and would like me to agree with them.

raduray · Jul 6, 2015

Tony2046 said:
So, I have literally read just about every comment in this thread. I could of read them all but past up on a few cause I ran out of time. Didjah understand that? Did I hit any nerves?

I grew up in a blue collar house hold and the idear behind the thought was what was important. Proper english or proper grammar was not a high priority and therefore I grew up using many of the grammar deficient phrases stated on this thread. My fathah was born and raised in an extremely poor household in northern NH. Built his first bike from parts from the junk "yahd" among other things and although he joined the Air Force without a high school diploma he went on to serve 30 years and retiring and earning two master degrees along the way. He improved his grammar but never lost his regional accent nor stopped using colloquial phrases because it was a part of who he was and where he was from. The idea behind the term grammar police is not for someone who (or is it whom?) politely corrects your grammar it is for those who act like snobs and think that speaking english in any way other than proper shows lack or class, respect or intelligence. Colloquial phrases or improper usage of the language can be cultural and rooted to the identity of a person from a particular region just as it is around the rest of the world. The best thing I got from my fathah wasn't a grammar lesson rather it was to be yourself, be honest and be respectful. I honestly do not care how someone phrases a statement or question when we are in a conversation because I am searching for the meaning or the idea behind it which more often than not can lead to something positive. Grammar is important but more important is the idea or message that man/woman is trying to convey.

And if your father were to post on this forum, would he use "would of" or "would have"?

PatsFanInVa · Jul 6, 2015

Tony2046 said:
So, I have literally read just about every comment in this thread. I could of read them all but past up on a few cause I ran out of time. Didjah understand that? Did I hit any nerves?

I grew up in a blue collar house hold and the idear behind the thought was what was important. Proper english or proper grammar was not a high priority and therefore I grew up using many of the grammar deficient phrases stated on this thread. My fathah was born and raised in an extremely poor household in northern NH. Built his first bike from parts from the junk "yahd" among other things and although he joined the Air Force without a high school diploma he went on to serve 30 years and retiring and earning two master degrees along the way. He improved his grammar but never lost his regional accent nor stopped using colloquial phrases because it was a part of who he was and where he was from. The idea behind the term grammar police is not for someone who (or is it whom?) politely corrects your grammar it is for those who act like snobs and think that speaking english in any way other than proper shows lack or class, respect or intelligence. Colloquial phrases or improper usage of the language can be cultural and rooted to the identity of a person from a particular region just as it is around the rest of the world. The best thing I got from my fathah wasn't a grammar lesson rather it was to be yourself, be honest and be respectful. I honestly do not care how someone phrases a statement or question when we are in a conversation because I am searching for the meaning or the idea behind it which more often than not can lead to something positive. Grammar is important but more important is the idea or message that man/woman is trying to convey.

Take the thread for what it is... (at least to me...) a bunch of English geeks having fun.

But I'll echo some other people here who have found themselves needing secret decoder rings on some posts. It's frustrating. It shows a poster's lack of respect for other people and themselves - I don't mean the slip or two that would get you a point or two off your essay for Mrs. Gittelson's homeroom class essay, I mean indecipherable screeds.

It's "could have been", not "could of been"

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

In the Starting Line-Up

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

Veteran Starter w/Big Long Term Deal

In the Starting Line-Up

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

Similar threads