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should have vs should of

The correct phrase is 'should have.' 'Should of' is a common mistake due to the way it sounds when spoken, but it is grammatically incorrect. 'Should have' is the correct form to use in written English.

Last updated: March 15, 2024 • 1266 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"should have"

Use 'should have' when expressing something that was expected or recommended in the past. It is the correct form of the modal verb 'should' followed by the base form of the verb 'have.'

Examples:

  • I should have called you earlier.
  • She should have studied more for the exam.
  • Mar 14, 2019 ... It's perfectly fine to say "should've" as a contraction of "should have". In most accents/dialects, it sounds the same as "should of".
  • May 14, 2024 ... Hello Camunda folks! In my Camunda Modeler I see warnings like that: A User Task should have a defined Form But due to our specific business ...
  • Nov 19, 2020 ... 241 votes, 16 comments. Ever since reading the hunger games in 2010, I have stuck to the firm belief that Gale should have died, ...
  • May 1, 2019 ... Question about rule 'Mouse events should have corresponding keyboard events' · SonarQube · html, sonarqube · melgish (Nick) May 1, 2019, 1:53pm ...
  • Mar 14, 2016 ... Kerberos principal should have 3 parts. Labels: Labels: Apache Hive · avatar. author-rank dallin_young. New Contributor. Created ‎03-14-2016 05: ...
  • Jul 27, 2022 ... I Should Have Been Aborted. This series features former foster youth who are Youth Voice writers responding to the Supreme Court's June 24 ...
  • Dave K asked a question. June 26, 2023 at 6:51 PM. Validator should have existed for application CaeFemTemplate error. NX 2027. Testing my NXLancher stuff, ...
  • Feb 14, 2017 ... The branch status is marking a bunch of files dirty that dont exist. I'm getting the error; Encountered 1 file(s) that should have been pointers ...
  • Jan 20, 2020 ... We all should have just bought the DVDs. Streaming used to be affordable. Five years ago, “Friends,” “The Office,” “Grey's Anatomy,” “Gossip Girl” and “Gilmore ...
  • Oct 31, 2022 ... 4' Encountered 433 files that should have been pointers, but weren't: I think someone (almost certainly me) modified .gitattributes and then ...

Alternatives:

  • should've
  • ought to have
  • could have
  • would have
  • might have

This phrase is incorrect in written English. It is a common mistake based on the way it sounds when spoken.

"should of"

  • should of. A stupid way of saying "should have". Person: I totally should of bought the bike, duuuuude. Me: DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! *stabs to death*.
  • This is one of those errors typically made by a person more familiar with the spoken than the written form of English. A sentence like “I would have gone if ...
  • Tom and Pauline are so selfish, they should of been there for you. Should have should never be written "should of." However, the latter does exist: when should ...
  • Oct 12, 2012 ... How did the use of “could of” and “should of” originate, and is it considered correct? Recently, I tend to stumble a lot over the mistake that ...

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