shouldve

Shouldve is commonly understood as a nonstandard spelling of the contraction should've, which itself represents should have. In standard written English, the preferred forms are should have (two words) or the contraction should've, with the apostrophe indicating the missing letters in have. The form shouldve without an apostrophe is mainly a typographic simplification found in informal contexts and is generally discouraged in formal writing.

Usage and meaning: should have expresses expectation, obligation, or advice about a past action, often signaling regret or critique about what was done or not done. Examples include You should have told me earlier, and They should have finished this by now. The phrase can also convey a conditional or hypothetical sense, as in If you had asked, I should have helped. The construction uses the modal should followed by the perfect infinitive have plus a past participle (e.g., should have gone, should have seen).

Style considerations: In formal or academic writing, prefer the explicit form should have rather than contractions. In informal writing, speech, transcripts, or digital communication, should've is widely used and generally accepted, while shouldve remains casual and less correct in strict contexts.

Related forms: Shouldn't have (negative form) is common and conveys regret about something one did or did not do. Other perfect modals, such as would have and could have, share similar structures but express different nuances of possibility or obligation.

Pronunciation: The contraction is typically pronounced as should-uhv or should-v, blending the have with the preceding word. Some readers may read should've as “should of” due to mishearing, which is a nonstandard mistake.

In summary, shouldve (or more correctly should've) is an informal contraction for should have, used to discuss past obligations, advice, or regrets, with formal writing favoring the expanded form.