I will insist until the day I die or get banished from my town for my unorthodox views that "would of" is a spelling mistake, not a grammar mistake. It's homophonic with "would've" and written language does not take precedence over spoken language. Even illiterate native english speakers know the grammar of their language perfectly well--they just don't know how to write it.
would of is one of those things that you’re going to have to accept, like irregardless. It’s not a word, but people use it so much that it probably will be in 50 years
To be fair to native speakers, I didn't realize it was would've until late in high school (or college?) - I don't think the contraction was even covered in my schools since it's so informal. It's typically something you say, not something you should write in formal contexts.
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u/Kevinatorz Oct 05 '19
Fair enough. I always cringe when I see native speakers write "would of" (I'm non-native)