would've/would OF
Bob Yates
> [Native speakes] are suggesting that their during their own L1 acquisition of
> English they heard
> the sound of "would've" and created the sequence:
>
> SUBJECT + MODAL + OF + VERB
Just because native speakers report they really think it is "of" does not mean
that it is "of."
Let me offer a simple test for native speakers the next time they write
modal+of+past participle.
Asked them if the expanded version is possible. Thus, if they write (1) ask if
(2) is possible.
1) She could of done it.
2) She could have done it.
Now ask if (3) is possible is (4) possible.
3) the student of English
4) the student have English
I doubt that any native speaker of English would say that 4 is a possible
expansion of 3.
I have seen the use of "of" in the contraction in a diary written by a Northern
soldier in the US Civil War. Cormac McCarthy, a winner of the National Book
Award in the US, uses this construction in dialogue by his characters in The
Crossing. I think McCarthy does this to suggest how little knowledge
this character has of the written language.
Bob Yates, Central Missouri State University USA