I could have vs I could of

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I could have vs I could of difference
Individual words are not the only things that people confuse in the English language. Even phrases have been documented to be altered, and these alterations change the meanings.

Take for instance the phrases “I could have” and “I could of”. They look entirely different on paper, but it is easy to confuse them when they are said. On paper, have and of are clearly different, but when someone pronounces it (and the accent is not something you might be accustomed to), you might not know the difference. The meanings of these phrases do not just vary, really, and you will see why.

Let us break down “I could have” to fully understand what it is. The word could is the past tense of the verb can, and you know that the word can means to be able to (do something). When you combine the two words “could have”, there is an implied meaning that something was possible or something was plausible to have happened; however, it did not occur.

This is usually used to pertain to things from the past, so there could be nostalgic implications when using this phrase. An example of the correct usage of the phrase “I could have” is as follows: “I could have studied for the exam. Instead, I played video games and failed the exam”. The subject “I” thought that, before his examinations, there was still time to prepare, but instead of studying for the exam, he played video games instead.

On the other hand, the term “I could of” does not just have a different meaning. In fact, its meaning is non-existent. I could of does not mean anything, and you can see that it will not make sense if included in the sentence. Inserting it in a sentence will give you an incomplete thought.