# Have I freaked about "would of" yet? Allow me to do so now... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 2, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048 "2009-03-02T19:44:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rascal_s_Mom)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/21 "2009-03-02T22:13:59Z")
I HATE “moreso” as one word. It’s two words, people. ---
**Author:** ![orderfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orderfire/32/10908_2.png) [@orderfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orderfire)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/22 "2009-03-02T22:14:15Z")
Um, irregardless, youse guys are all way to grammar orientated. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/23 "2009-03-02T22:14:44Z")
Yeah, but most people could care less. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/24 "2009-03-02T22:23:15Z")
Meh. Like another poster, I only get annoyed if the moron writes “would of” – I live in the South, I just like to believe that what I hear is “would’ve” – even when I hear “wudda.” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/25 "2009-03-02T22:31:14Z")
Since they sound the same to me too, like others in the thread, I don’t blink unless it’s written out “would of.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/26 "2009-03-02T22:39:12Z")
Just to be clear, since I sort of sidetracked with the “saying would of” bit; I frankly don’t believe people are saying it. Or if they truly are, then they need to be shot. It’s just my friend claiming that as a justification for saying that the written would of is correct. Which it isn’t. So there. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/27 "2009-03-02T22:42:28Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > Really? Because both “would’ve” and “would of” sound the same to me, when spoken aloud. > > That’s I keep my sanity. Every time someone says “would of”, in my head it turns into “would’ve”. What really pisses me off is when someone says, “If I would’ve”/“If I would of.” IF I HAD. IF I HAD. IF I HAD. NOT WOULD HAVE! ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/28 "2009-03-02T22:59:02Z")
What’s wrong with “continue on”? (After answering, we can allow the thread to continue on the path to oblivion.) ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/29 "2009-03-02T23:08:47Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I thought I was the only one. > > This drives me NUTS. I don’t care about the spoken bit - people have accents and that’s ok - but when I see people writing "would of"or “could of” or “should of” I literally have to sit on my hands to not correct them. Literally? Are you sure about that? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/30 "2009-03-02T23:36:25Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Never phased me… 😛 (fazed) > [@pulykamell](#): > > They sound exactly the same to me. I say “would’ve” the same way I would say “would of.” Exactly–that’s where the misspelling comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/31 "2009-03-02T23:53:32Z")
Yeah, people are saying “would’ve”, the contraction of “would have”, and are either carelessly or ignorantly writing the word the way it sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/32 "2009-03-03T00:06:29Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > 😛 > (fazed)Exactly–that’s where the misspelling comes from. Ack! I knew something looked funny! had to happen in a thread like this, practically guaranteed… ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/33 "2009-03-03T00:08:15Z")
> [@Algorithm](#): > > Literally? Are you sure about that? At least it’s possible to do. Although that makes it worse in a way because many people may believe the hands really are being sat on. At least with more fantastical use of “literally” it’s obvious that they mean “figuratively.” > [@Lamia](#): > > Yeah, people are saying “would’ve”, the contraction of “would have”, and are either carelessly or ignorantly writing the word the way it sounds Unfortunately I think many people have heard “would’ve” and have never considered that it is a contraction of “would have”. They really think everyone else is saying “would of” and so that’s how they write it. ---
**Author:** ![born\_too\_late](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba9def/32.png) [@born\_too\_late](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/born_too_late)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/34 "2009-03-03T00:09:55Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Well, my purposes are pretty intensive… So, supposably you’re OK with it? ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/35 "2009-03-03T00:15:59Z")
Only slightly less annoying is the contraction “gotta”, used to mean “have a” instead of “have to”. As in, “I gotta good score on my English test”, instead of “I gotta do more studying”. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/36 "2009-03-03T00:21:52Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > What’s wrong with “continue on”? (After answering, we can allow the thread to continue on the path to oblivion.) It is redundant. One either continues or goes on, continuing on is like “with au jus” (with with juice), or a depressingly large number of other redundant phrases commonly used, even by me, I’m sad to admit. knowledgeable experts lag behind live studio audience local residents mental telepathy natural instinct penetrate into Some less obvious examples: “ask the question” just ask “brief moment” a moment is by definition brief “close proximity” proximity means close in distance “emergency situation” emergency is a noun meaning dire, unexpected situation entirely eliminate - eliminate means to remove entirely hollow tube - if it ain’t hollow, ain’t a tube ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/37 "2009-03-03T00:26:45Z")
> [@Dante](#): > > Only slightly less annoying is the contraction “gotta”, used to mean “have a” instead of “have to”. > > As in, “I gotta good score on my English test”, instead of “I gotta do more studying”. That kind of thing doesn’t bother me, it’s colloquial, it’s slang, it’s lazy, the person doing it is probably aware of it. But to actually sit and type out “would of” blows my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/38 "2009-03-03T00:28:38Z")
> [@born\_too\_late](#): > > So, supposably you’re OK with it? Only when I get a pit in my stomach… (:eek: that one does me in too… again, the lack of meaning should be the giveaway!) someone is bound to ask, so: the correct way to say it would be to say that one gets “a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach” or a sick feeling or some other way of identifying the negative sensation (bad feeling) that you are having in a specific location in your body (the pit of your stomach). “I get a terrible pit in my stomach” leaves everything that means anything out of the statement entirely. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/39 "2009-03-03T00:40:54Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > It is redundant. One either continues or goes on, continuing on is like “with au jus” (with with juice), or a depressingly large number of other redundant phrases commonly used, even by me, I’m sad to admit. > > knowledgeable experts > lag behind > live studio audience > local residents > mental telepathy > natural instinct > penetrate into > Some less obvious examples: > > “ask the question” just ask > “brief moment” a moment is by definition brief > “close proximity” proximity means close in distance > “emergency situation” emergency is a noun meaning dire, unexpected situation > entirely eliminate - eliminate means to remove entirely > hollow tube - if it ain’t hollow, ain’t a tube I think that you missed my subtle suggestion that “continue on” might be entirely correct in some contexts. And in most of the examples you gave, the “redundant” phrase is not equivalent to the implied abbreviated variant, so it occurs to me you might be an overly specific pedant in these matters… ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048/40 "2009-03-03T01:06:19Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > How do we feel about “would’ve”? Not a very common contraction. “Would have” I suppose would be the preferred nomenclature? How about “there’re”? My bane is “definately”. [Free Clue](http://www.d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y.com/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-freaked-about-would-of-yet-allow-me-to-do-so-now/488048.md?page=3)