Commonly Confused Words Have and of

The sound of the preposition of  is similar to the sound of ve--the shortened form of the helping verb have. As a result, of is sometimes misused in contractions. Usage Have  often functions as an auxiliary verb (or helping verb). In speech and informal writing, the contracted form ve  is sometimes used with the verbs could, must, should, would, may, and might. Of  is a  preposition, not a contraction. Examples Jed could have tried harder to help us.Jed said, I wouldve tried harder if Id known you were paying attention.Some of us must have been watching the game when the burglars broke into the house.If the Mets would have given him two more runs per game, Seaver would have won 20 games by the end of August. But that was one of those wouldve, couldve, shouldve scenarios.(Josh Rosengren, Hammerin Hank, George Almighty and the Say Hey Kid, 2008)The planning of the fly was an application of pure intelligence, morals not being concerned. Not one of us could have planned the fly, not one of us could have constructed him; and no one would have considered it wise to try, except under an assumed name.(Mark Twain, Thoughts of God, early 1900s) Usage Notes Mr. Wood, my English teacher, is always telling us that theres no such thing as must of, should of, could of, its must have, should have, could have. Mr. Wood says stuff like, The day you all get that simple little fact into your tiny little heads is the day I can retire a happy man. Well, this is all very well and good, but he doesnt need to be moaning on to me about it. (Hayley Long, Lottie Biggs Is [Not] Mad. Macmillan, 2009)When we speak, we slur these phrases so that they all sound as if they end in of, but in fact, all of them end in have. Their correct forms are may have, might have, must have, should have, would have, and could have. (Susan Thurman, The Only Grammar Book Youll Ever Need. FW Media, 2003)Some writers use of for ve deliberately to add flavor; should of and Id of have a drawled look that the more clipped shouldve and Idve lack. Ring Lardner and John OHara often used of for ve, and it is unlikely that either did it from ignorance. (Edward Johnson,  The Handbook of Good English. Washington Square, 1991)   Practice Exercises Fill in the blanks with either have or of. See how you did with the answers below. One _____ us made a mistake.It must _____ been you.She was one _____ the few gentlewomen I _____ ever known, and has remained throughout my life the measure _____ what a human being can be. (Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, 1969) Answers to Practice Exercises One  of  us made a mistake.It must  have  been you.She was one  of  the few gentlewomen I  have  ever known, and has remained throughout my life the measure  of  what a human being can be. (Maya Angelou,  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, 1969)