Kind of and Sort of; Could of,
Should of, and Would of
Mini-lesson #56
FROM THE UWF WRITING LAB’S
101 GRAMMAR MINI-LESSONS SERIES
Kind of and Sort of

In informal speech, kind of and sort of are
often used incorrectly as adverbs meaning
rather, somewhat, nearly, or almost.


INCORRECT: I am kind of (or sort of) depressed about
my grade in English.
CORRECT: I am rather depressed about my grade in
English.
Kind of and Sort of Cont.

Kind of and sort of are used correctly as type
of, preceding a noun.


I enjoy this kind of movie.
This is my favorite sort of dessert.
Could of, Should of, and Would of

Could of, should of, and would of are nonstandard written forms of could have, should
have, and would have. The contraction ‘ve
(for have) is sometimes incorrectly written as
of.


INCORRECT: He could of been accepted to any college
he desired.
CORRECT: He could’ve (or could have) been accepted
to any college he desired.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

I am (kind of/sort of/rather) worried about the
midterm exam.


Rather
He (could of/should of/could have) told you
he was going to be late.

Could have
MORE PRACTICE!

After work, the teacher is (kind of/rather)
tired.


rather
You look (kind of/rather) bewildered.

rather
That was (kind of/rather) fun!