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Glite Dictionary
coulda

coulda

8.8
To say 'could have' in informal speech to show something was possible in the past
  • auxiliary
  • /ˈkʊdə/
  • Informal
translation icon : podría haber
  • I coulda gone to the party, but I was too tired.

Examples

  • They coulda won the game if they had tried harder.

  • You coulda told me you were running late.

  • You coulda won the game!

  • Why didn't you tell me earlier? You coulda!

  • I coulda trained for the marathon, but I decided to rest instead.

  • You coulda helped me with the project if you had known I needed assistance.

  • If he had known about the concert, he coulda bought tickets in advance.

How Likely

coulda
  • Informal
8.8

Surface Forms

coulda past

Morphology

coulda = could + have (transparent) = could + have

The form is a colloquial spoken contraction of the phrase 'could have' (could + have), so its meaning directly follows from the base words though the spelling is nonstandard.

Etymology

The word coulda comes from people saying could and have very quickly as could've, with the have shortened to an 'a' sound. So, coulda means 'could have' and is used in casual speech to talk about a past possibility or to show regret.