What's the difference between "could of" and "could have"?

Answer 1

could have refers to something that was possible but did not occur in the past. In informal speech, it is contracted to could've, not could of. If I'd known you were moving, I could have (could've) helped you pack. If I'd known you were moving, I could of helped you pack

Answer 2

This is a very common question and spurs from the slang of human tongue. The phrase "could have" refers to being able to do something in the past.

The reason for the mistake is that the pronunciation of "have" in unstressed contexts is the same as that of "of", and the two words are confused when it comes to writing them down. The error was recorded as early as 1837 and, though common, is usually considered unacceptable in English

Answer 3

"could of" is a common misspelling of the contraction "could've," which actually represents the term "could have."

This error occurs because, when spoken, the contraction "could've" sounds like the term "could of." The same goes for "would've" and "should've," which represent "would have" rather than "would of " and "should have" rather than "should of," respectively.