Could have-Could of | Commonly Confused Words

Could have

/kʊd həv/

Expresses a possibility or potential action that did not happen or was not fulfilled in the past

They could have taken a different path.She could have been an artist in another life.We could have avoided the traffic jam.

This word has no antonyms

/ˈkʊd əv/

A common incorrect form often used in place of 'could have' due to similar pronunciation.

He could of told me about the meeting earlier.They could of prevented the accident with more caution.I thought she could of handled it better.

This word has no antonyms

Could have is the correct form and it often sounds like could of in casual speech.
Remember that could is followed by have to form the perfect tense, indicating possibility in the past.
Of is not used in forming tenses, so its incorrect to use could of'.
To check, replace could of with couldve and see if it makes sense, because couldve is the contraction of could have.
Think of have as part of the verb phrase that indicates a past action or state that could have occurred.