"of" for "have" in "would have" constructions

[Dennis R. Preston]

Amy,

Please send this goodie to me. I'm working on them. I've encountered
even such delights as "I'd've would've gone if I were you,"
admittedly more often in speech. I'm beginning to conclude that there
is a verbal particle "of," but how it patterns and functions I'm not
sure.

Dennis

>I just spotted this substitution of "of" for "have" in a "would have"
>construction in a freshman comp. paper. This is probably a
>Linguistics 101-worthy question: what process is causing this
>subsitution/use of "of"? Faulty reanalysis? Is it an eggcorn?
>
>---Amy West


--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
Morrill Hall 15-C
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1036 USA
Office: (517) 353-4736
Fax: (517) 353-3755