'Should of' v. 'Should have': which is correct?

Dionysus · 23-08-2011 8:17pm #1

It's time for an AH poll on this as both versions appear to be widely used here.

I've always said 'should have' - e.g. 'I should have done that' - but the more I read AH the more I realise I could, possibly, be incorrect.

So, denizens of Afterhours: which is correct?

copacetic · 23-08-2011 8:18pm

Shoulda coulda woulda

23-08-2011 8:18pm

IT'S 'SHOULD HAVE'

:mad:

Larianne · 23-08-2011 8:19pm

bluewolf wrote: »

IT'S 'SHOULD HAVE'

:mad:

I knew you'd be in like a flash!

Killer Pigeon · 23-08-2011 8:19pm

> Primary School Forum

Mickeroo · 23-08-2011 8:19pm

Should have.

Sir Oxman · 23-08-2011 8:20pm

Should have, I think people use 'should of' instead of should've because erm, it sounds like 'should of'

Sky King · 23-08-2011 8:20pm

Should have.

Badgermonkey · 23-08-2011 8:20pm

Shuddup

hatrickpatrick · 23-08-2011 8:20pm

How is this a real question?

"Should of" makes no grammatical sense whatsoever. "of" is not a verb.
"Should" is the imperfect, and the imperfect can only be applied to a verb.

"I should have done" is the past imperfect of "I do". The past tense, technically speaking, is "I have done", then you add the imperfect, "I should have done."

Where the hell does "of" come into this?

23-08-2011 8:21pm

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Where the hell does "of" come into this?

Lazy speech translating into confused typing

same reason you see 'i was seen this girl' and 'she was been stupid'

Larianne · 23-08-2011 8:23pm

bluewolf wrote: »

Lazy speech translating into confused typing

same reason you see 'i was seen this girl' and 'she was been stupid'

Further grammatical errors/queries on boards.ie should be forwarded to Bluewolf via PM.

:pac:

stovelid · 23-08-2011 8:24pm

Should have - e.g. I should have done that

I hope lots of lower-class people erroneously plump for should of so I can sneer at them.

The excitement of it is giving me a gargantuan erection.

Aldebaran · 23-08-2011 8:24pm

Getting ready to mob the first person who votes 'should of'.

23-08-2011 8:25pm

Larianne wrote: »

Further grammatical errors/queries on boards.ie should be forwarded to Bluewolf via PM.

:pac:

bluewolf :cool::pac:

stovelid wrote: »

I hope lots of lower-class people erroneously plump for should of so I can sneer at them.

The excitement of it is giving me a gargantuan erection.

I'm not sneering at anyone. :rolleyes:

Mickeroo · 23-08-2011 8:25pm

bluewolf wrote: »

Lazy speech translating into confused typing

same reason you see 'i was seen this girl' and 'she was been stupid'

Kind of different but my flatmate (who is awesome by the way) always says "pacific" when she means "specific" and it drives me mental.

Ickle Magoo · 23-08-2011 8:25pm

stovelid wrote: »

I hope lots of lower-class people erroneously plump for should of so I can sneer at them.

The excitement of it is giving me a gargantuan erection.

Well that's a lovely image - thanks for that. :eek:

I'm also not sure that spelling and grammar is class dependent...

23-08-2011 8:26pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3y0CD2CoCs

Larianne · 23-08-2011 8:26pm

bluewolf wrote: »

bluewolf :cool::pac:

I bloody well knew that as I was typing. Damn it!

Dun · 23-08-2011 8:27pm

Should have.. it's a "modal auxiliary verb", which means that it needs another verb afterwards. Should is the conditional form of "shall", much like would is the conditional form of "will".

You could say (as archaic as it may sound) "I shall have finished this by 8 o'clock", and then at 9 o'clock "I should have finished this by 8 o'clock, but I went on AH and time flew by". But you wouldn't say "I shall of finished...." so you wouldn't say "I should of finished". It just sounds like that when we speak quickly :P

Larianne · 23-08-2011 8:27pm

Mickeroo wrote: »

Kind of different but my flatmate (who is awesome by the way) always says "pacific" when she means "specific" and it drives me mental.

I'll be honest here and say I only copped myself saying the same thing about a year or two ago!

Had no clue before!!!

stovelid · 23-08-2011 8:28pm

Should have - e.g. I should have done that

bluewolf wrote: »

I'm not sneering at anyone. :rolleyes:

That's a source of immense gratification to me.

Temptamperu · 23-08-2011 8:29pm

Its should have... not that it really matters in the long run.

Mickeroo · 23-08-2011 8:30pm

Larianne wrote: »

I'll be honest here and say I only copped myself saying the same thing about a year or two ago! Had no clue before!!!

It's an easy mistake to make in fairness, and I do enjoy talking like I'm stoned when they ask me to be more pacific.

Dun · 23-08-2011 8:34pm

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

How is this a real question?

"Should of" makes no grammatical sense whatsoever. "of" is not a verb.
"Should" is the imperfect, and the imperfect can only be applied to a verb.

"I should have done" is the past imperfect of "I do". The past tense, technically speaking, is "I have done", then you add the imperfect, "I should have done."

Where the hell does "of" come into this?

I do believe that "I was doing" or "I used to do" would be the imperfect of "I do". "I should do" would be the simple past of shall used as an auxiliary to "do". But I never studied English, except in the context of translation into it, so I'm open to correction.

Elohim · 23-08-2011 8:39pm

I made this mistake when I was 5. I still remember the shame!

23-08-2011 8:39pm

One of my top 10 annoyances on boards.

It's "should have", "would have" and "could have".

Zillah · 23-08-2011 8:41pm

ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES

Larianne · 23-08-2011 8:42pm

Mickeroo wrote: »

It's an easy mistake to make in fairness, and I do enjoy talking like I'm stoned when they ask me to be more pacific.

I don't know where I picked it up. I sometimes have trouble pronouncing certain 's' words so maybe that's it. It was only for my friend so corrected me, I'd still be going around saying it!

23-08-2011 8:42pm

Zillah wrote: »

ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES

i would of taught it was all intensive purposes per say. i use it alot.

ok, i need a shower now...

Killer Pigeon · 23-08-2011 8:44pm

Those who understand English grammar and those who don't. Name and Shame.

Poll:

'Should of' v. 'Should have': which is correct?

Should of - e.g. I should of done that

stovelid

Should have - e.g. I should have done that

Abi, Aldebaran, Arnold Layne, Badgermonkey, baz2009, bluewolf, Chinafoot, ciano1, coolmoose, Cossax, Crackle, Creature, Dionysus, Doctor Doctor, dsmythy, Dun, enda1, ericsinjun, Flabangav, Fogra, foxy06, gambiaman, GerM, gingernut79, hatrickpatrick, HazDanz, Ickle Magoo, JazzyJ, Joey., JoseJones, Killer Pigeon, Links234, littlefriend, LordSutch, MagicMarker, MarkD09, Mental_Legend, MGMTea, mhge, Mickeroo, mojesius, Mr. Presentable, murria, Musicmental85, My name is URL, Niall09, nothing, Oh_Noes, PMan, Skulled_Shank, TashaMonster, Temptamperu, TheBody, TheZohan, true-or-false, twirlagig, Wertz, westendgirlie, where do i go from here

LordSutch · 23-08-2011 8:44pm

Dionysus wrote: »

It's time for an AH poll on this as both versions appear to be widely used here.

I've always said 'should have' - e.g. 'I should have done that' - but the more I read AH the more I realise I could, possibly, be incorrect.

So, denizens of Afterhours: which is correct?

Obviously the correct answer is 'Should Have'.

We might also start a new thread regarding "I saw Vs I seen", the latter being very popular on Boards.ie :cool:

Mickeroo · 23-08-2011 8:46pm

Larianne wrote: »

I don't know where I picked it up. I sometimes have trouble pronouncing certain 's' words so maybe that's it. It was only for my friend so corrected me, I'd still be going around saying it!

say "statistics" :pac:

al28283 · 23-08-2011 8:47pm

why is this a poll? It's not a matter of opinion

TimeToShine · 23-08-2011 8:49pm

Should have - e.g. I should have done that

it's clearly "should of", most people ITT is trolling. I can't believe people are this stupid.

I award you all a solid 6/10 for solidarity.

Novella · 23-08-2011 8:51pm

I fucking hate 'should of'. Arrrrgh. SHOULD HAVE!

Dionysus · 23-08-2011 8:52pm

Larianne wrote: »

I'll be honest here and say I only copped myself saying the same thing about a year or two ago! Had no clue before!!!

This brings a warm glow to my evangelical heart. Another sinner saved!

Joey. · 23-08-2011 8:52pm

Mickeroo wrote: »

Kind of different but my flatmate (who is awesome by the way) always says "pacific" when she means "specific" and it drives me mental.

I have a teacher who says that :rolleyes:
I see "should of" a fair bit on Facebook, all rules for spelling/grammar/punctuation go out the window there, though.

Larianne · 23-08-2011 8:53pm

Mickeroo wrote: »

say "statistics" :pac:

That's not funny.

And I think I have a module on it this year in college.

The Orb · 23-08-2011 8:55pm

Is this thread for real?, The answer is obvious to anybody who has any rudimentary grasp of the English language.

Mickeroo · 23-08-2011 8:57pm

Larianne wrote: »

That's not funny.

And I think I have a module on it this year in college.

Ah sorry I couldn't resist

You don't really have a module on it this year do you?

23-08-2011 8:57pm

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

How is this a real question?

"Should of" makes no grammatical sense whatsoever. "of" is not a verb.
"Should" is the imperfect, and the imperfect can only be applied to a verb.

"I should have done" is the past imperfect of "I do". The past tense, technically speaking, is "I have done", then you add the imperfect, "I should have done."

Where the hell does "of" come into this?

You have no idea what you're talking about. There's no such thing as the past imperfect. 'Should have' is a past modal. It's quite scary that quite a few people read your post and decided it was a great explanation.

mikemac · 23-08-2011 8:58pm

Sure that does be the way you do be doing it OP

Mickeroo · 23-08-2011 8:59pm

Monroe Early Stairwell wrote: »

You have no idea what you're talking about. There's no such thing as the past imperfect. 'Should have' is a past modal. It's quite scary that quite a few people read your post and decided it was a great explanation.

But they said it with such purpose

Liam Byrne · 23-08-2011 9:03pm

Can we have another poll asking "Earth flat or Earth round?"

Because there's only one correct answer to that too!

Those who opted for "of" need to go back to school.

Dionysus · 23-08-2011 9:05pm

LordSutch wrote: »

Obviously the correct answer is 'Should Have'.

We might also start a new thread regarding "I saw Vs I seen", the latter being very popular on Boards.ie :cool:

Go for it, LordSutch! And don't forget "Your" and "You're"!

Mickeroo · 23-08-2011 9:06pm

Dionysus wrote: »

Go for it, LordSutch! And don't forget "Your" and "You're"!

There, Their and They're

To, Too and Two

If we give each one a thread my might just change the world in our own little way.

stovelid · 23-08-2011 9:10pm

Should have - e.g. I should have done that

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Those who opted for "of" need to go back to school.

LordSutch wrote: »

But we're not talking about 'Typo's here, we're talking about people who actually argue that 'Should of' is correct!

We're just not as articulate and smart as you lot.

No need to rub it in.

LordSutch · 23-08-2011 9:10pm

Dionysus wrote: »

Go for it, LordSutch! And don't forget "Your" and "You're"!

But we're not talking about 'Typos' here, we're talking about people (3) who actually argue that 'Should of' is correct!

Dionysus · 23-08-2011 9:11pm

al28283 wrote: »

why is this a poll? It's not a matter of opinion

Everything is a matter of opinion on a discussion forum.

Mickeroo · 23-08-2011 9:13pm

Dionysus wrote: »

Everything is a matter of opinion on a discussion forum.

In your opinion!

:pac:

'Should of' v. 'Should have': which is correct?

'Should of' v. 'Should have': which is correct? 9 votes

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