wouldve

Wouldve is, in standard English, the informal and nonstandard spelling of the contraction would have. The conventional written form is would've, which preserves two words and uses an apostrophe to mark the omission of letters. Although wouldve may be seen in informal writing or social media, most style guides recommend would've in formal contexts to avoid ambiguity.

Function and usage: would've marks a conditional perfect construction, referring to a hypothetical action in the past. It replaces would have plus a past participle (for example, would have gone -> would've gone). It appears in if clauses and in narrative to indicate counterfactual outcomes, e.g., If I had studied, I would've passed.

Pronunciation: in speech, would've is typically pronounced as would plus the reduced have, commonly wood-uhv or wood-v depending on rhythm. Spelling is the main issue in writing; the phonetic sound is often unclear to readers when spelled as wouldve.

Common errors and style notes: would of is a common erroneous spelling caused by mishearing; it is not correct in standard English. The contracted form would've is widely accepted in informal writing, but in formal prose, many editors require would have or would've with the proper apostrophe. There is also woulda in casual speech representations, meaning would have, but it is even less formal.