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Rule "could of (could have)"

This is one of many errors that LanguageTool can detect. Visit the LanguageTool homepage to use it online or download it for free.

Description: could of (could have)
Message: It's never correct to use 'of' after a modal verb. Use \1 have, or, in informal register, \1've.
Category: Possible Typo (ID: TYPOS)
Link: https://languagetool.org/insights/post/grammar-could-of-or-could-have/
Incorrect sentences
that this rule can detect:
  • It should of been found last night.
    Correction suggestion: should have, should've
  • Something terrible must of happened here.
    Correction suggestion: must have, must've
  • It could of been you, the one that I was givin' my love to.
    Correction suggestion: could have, could've
  • As you may of heard, Lowes is shutting down Iris at the end of March.
    Correction suggestion: may have, may've
Correct sentences
for comparison:
  • It was the will of world citizens to fix the problem.
  • I could have bought this house!
  • I must of course have something of my own before many more years have passed over my head.
  • Residents of Bahia Blanca, a port and petrochemical center, complained in May of foul smelling water.
Pattern: Show XML · Show in Rule Editor
Check the following text against just this rule:

ID: MODAL_OF [1]
Version: 6.5-SNAPSHOT (2024-04-24 22:33:07 +0200)