British English vs American English: Lessons from the 2026 World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup reminded us that English is spoken in many different ways around the world. From football and soccer to queue and line, discover the key…
This blog post is part of a series of posts that aim to correct common English grammar mistakes.
You may have heard this said in English: “could’ve, should’ve, and would’ve”. Now because these words are the shortened versions of “could have, should have and would have” when spoken they sound like “could of, should of and would of”. But that is incorrect English. For example –
“He could have gone to the party” = correct (more formal)
“He could’ve gone to the party” = correct (less formal)
“He could of gone to the party” = incorrect
And the same rule applies to “should’ve” and “would’ve”
Connor FitzPatrick is the newest addition to the English Language Centre Brighton and has worked within English language schools since graduating from university. One of his many jobs is ensuring all grammar and language is correct and accurate across ELC’s websites and all its social streams.