of American English. Actually, native speakers  of American English are more likely to make this  

mistake than a non-native speaker, because native  speakers learn English by listening for years  

before they start learning English with letters,  and it's the pronunciation of these phrases,  

how they sound to the ears that messes  people up. Today, we're going to go over  

why this happens and we're going to  make sure you never mix them up again.

Don't forget, if you like this video or you learn  something new, give it a thumbs up and subscribe  

with notifications. Should've. I got curious about  this so I went to Google to type in this phrase  

and see what it suggested. The reason why I  got curious is because it's wrong. It's not  

grammatically correct. Here's what I found.  Google suggests things as you type based on  

what other people have searched in the past. So  I was curious to see if many people have searched  

phrases starting with 'should of' and I found  they were searching this: should of been a cowboy,  

should of seen it in color, should of known  better, should of had a V8. So that's what we're  

searching, the text below, however, shows the top  results, and there, we see the correct spelling.  

Should, apostrophe VE. Here's what's crazy. The  word 'have' and the word 'of' sound the same when  

they're reduced. That's why they get switched in  writing because they sound the same. Have can be  

reduced to the schwa, and the V, or just the  schwa. I should have been there. Should have.  

Should have. Uv uv uv uv. Have reducing to uv--  or, I can reduce that to the schwa without the V.  

That's another common reduction. Shoulda. I  should have been there. Shoulda. Uh uh uh uh uh.

Of has the same exact reduction. Let's take  a look at the example phrase: Lots of money.  

That can be pronounced: lots of, of, of, of, of,  the schwa, and the V, just like have. Uv uv uv.  

Lots of money. Or it can be just the  schwa. Lots of money. Lots uh uh uh,  

just like have. So if you've spent your whole  life hearing should've, would've, could've, or  

shoulda, woulda, coulda, it makes sense  that you're going to write it: should of,  

would of, could of, because these two word  phrases sound the same as: should have,  

could have, would have. But these phrases  with 'of' are never grammatically correct  

in any situation. They should always  be: should have, would have, could have.

So the same thing happens with would, and could.  Look at this. I typed 'could of' to see what other  

popular searches use this phrase. Could of been  different. Now there, that's the actual name of  

the song. This grammatical error is in the title  of the song. That's how common this error is,  

and these two suggestions, even though i've typed  'could of' are making the correction for me,  

changing it to could've,  the contraction with have.

For kids, especially, this is a common error,  as they're learning how to write before they've  

learned all the grammar. To conclude 'of' and  'have' can and usually do sound the same in  

spoken English. But with these three words,  what you're hearing is never 'of' it's always  

'have' so be careful in writing with these  phrases. Now, if you're wondering why on Earth  

we would pronounce have without the H? You're not  alone. This is a common reduction that most of my  

students did not know about. Did you know that  this word is often pronounced without the H?  

It becomes UD. He had already been waiting for  ten minutes. He had. Ud ud ud ud ud. Schwa D.  

And this word, it becomes ER. What's her  name? What's her-- er er er-- what's her--  

This word becomes EE. I thought he said that.  Thought he— Thought he— Thought he-- ee ee ee--

This word becomes IS. What's his problem?  What's his— what's his— This word becomes  

ihm— ihm— I got him a present. Got him—ihm— ihm— What? Yes. Dropping the H in unstressed words  

like this is a common reduction. This  is everyday English. It's not slang,  

and it's not sloppy, it's not unprofessional.  It's what native speakers do all the time at home,  

with friends, and family, but also at  work, in important meetings, and so on. 

Let's look at real world examples of  a couple of these words. First, HER. 

Instead of more chemotherapy coursing  to her veins, she's done that. 

Through her. Through her. It's like  one word with an unstressed ER ending.  

Through her. Instead of more chemotherapy  coursing to her veins, she's done that. 

Let's look at another example. Her in-laws should be arrested  

for what they did to her. To her. To her. No H in her. 

Her in-laws should be arrested  for what they did to her. 

Let's look at another example. I'm not worried about her not breathing. 

About her. About her. I'm not worried about her not breathing. 

And now, let's look at HIS. With all the risks to his safety and his health. 

And his-- and his-- no D in and, that's  another common reduction, and no H in his. 

With all the risks to his safety and his health. Let's look at another example. 

Where so many of his colleagues  had childhood horror stories. 

Of his— of his—. No H. Where so many of his colleagues  

had childhood horror stories. Let's do one more. How about HE? 

And then he found this middle  way which did seem to work. 

Then he— then he— Just a quick  EE vowel at the end of the word,  

then no H. Then he-- And then he found  this middle way which did seem to work. 

Let's look at another example. And what he meant by institutions  

were really just formal rules. What he-- What he meant. What he-- No H. 

And what he meant by institutions  were really just formal rules. 

Now, if this idea of dropping sounds,  this idea of reductions is new to you,  

I have put together a playlist that will help  you learn more about them. They really are  

an interesting part of spoken English and you  can keep learning right now with this video.  

Don't forget to subscribe with notifications, and  come back, and see what i've got new for you next  

week. I love being your English teacher. That's  it and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.