Couple Days Ago

Couple Days Ago
Which is correct? "A couple days ago," OR "A couple of days ago?"
A subreddit for questions and discussions about grammar, language, style, conventions[,] and punctuation.
I think omitting the "of" is incorrect. Because if you were saying "A quintet of birds" you need the "of." Please weigh in.
I would concur, "A couple of days ago" is correct in this instance.
The traditional use of couple has been as a noun, usually meaning "two" (but see (B)). As a noun, it requires the preposition of to link it to another noun . Using couple as an adjective directly before the noun is unidiomatic and awkward. That is, the age-old expression is a couple of people , not * a couple people , and the first phrase is still five times as common as the upstart second in modern print sources ...
This shift in usage may be fully acceptable someday. Perhaps everyone will come to use couple as an adjective. (See FUNCTIONAL VARIATION (B).) Words can and often do change their parts of speech. After all, the word couple is firmly established in one adverbial use (see (D)). But idiom has not yet admitted this casual expression as standard. ...
It is technically incorrect I suppose, but I would never go so far as to correct someone for it. Omitting the "of" is very common after "a couple" (not sure as to why) and you can never hope to change this usage.
I guess it may be common in speech, but writing has always been more strict about grammar.
It can be more common in some dialects (spoken only). For example "up town", less of a grammatical error but a regularly used phrase but hey ho.
But that sort of thing happens with a lot of words so I can really assume we'd say "couple days ago...".
Edit: I get it I speak awfully but I'm just sharing information. If this is downvote worthy could you please tell me why?

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Have you asked how long something will be and be told it will probably be a couple of days? What does this mean? Since “couple” is not a number, it makes sense that some people get confused about what a couple of days means.
Today, we’ll be taking a look at what “couple of days” means, what it really means, how it compares to a few days , whether it should be “couple days” or “couple of days”, and we’ll also be giving some examples to help you fully understand.
A “couple of days”, in theory, means 2 days. However, in reality, it will usually mean somewhere between 1 to 4 days.
First of all, let’s look at what it should mean.
In theory, when something will take a “couple of days”, it should mean that it will take precisely two days. This is because the word “couple” does mean two. For example, two people in a romantic relationship with one another might be described as a “couple”.
But of course, how words should be used and how they are actually used don’t always correlate. In reality, “couple” just means “within a reasonable number of days”.
Usually, this means somewhere between 1 day to 4 days. When you have to wait for a couple of days, you might need to wait for more than 2 days. However, you won’t be waiting for so long that there will be something to worry about.
Remember, just because “couple” means two that doesn’t mean “a couple of days” will always mean exactly two days.
This might make you wonder why we lie like this.
Well, firstly, there is a debate to be had here. Is this a lie, or is it just a slight bending of the English language rules? When you say “couple”, you probably assume the other person knows what you really mean.
But also, the phrase “couple of days” is meant more as a general indication of timescale than any kind of actual unit of time. It’s to let you know how patient you need to be rather than let you know how long to set your timer.
“”There’s enough pot roast there for a couple of days, so help yourself. I’ll see you soon.” Marianne and her father stood up and hugged.”
“David, Colonel Stephen Twitty, and I had a nice dinner together sitting on a cot in the shade contemplating what it was going to be like to go into Baghdad in the next couple of days.”
“Hotel in Kings Cross because one of the men that he played cards with and drank beer with every Saturday night had told him that the Majestic in Kings Cross was the place where he stayed whenever he went to Sydney for a couple of days.
“It might have been the next day or a couple of days after that; when I saw the hypothecation agreement, I saw it was a loan to W. R. Travers.
“Grey – haired and slender, a man with sharply lighted eyes, Vassalli had been contacted by Craxi a couple of days before.”
“I’ll dismantle it in a couple of days and haul the fixtures to Nome. You can buy me dinner when I get there.
“We were amazed as people got downright panicky from not being able to get out and about for a couple of days during the worst of the storm.
Sometimes, instead of “couple of days”, you might hear some alternatives such as a “few days” or “several days”. Generally, all three terms are interchangeable. However, there are some discreet differences.
When you say that something will be “a few days”, this means it will be at least three days. And when you say that something will be “several days”, that implies at least four. But, if I expect to wait for 3 days, I could use either “couple” or “few”.
Because these are general implications of timescale, not exact measurements, you can be a bit liberal with your language.
Some texts you read might say “a couple of days”, whereas others will just say “a couple days”. If you want to be strict about your use of English, you should always say “a couple of days”. To be honest, there isn’t really a proper reason for this. It’s just because that’s what is most commonly used.
However, if you were to say “a couple days”, almost everybody would know what you mean. So there is no need to be too strict about this.
Of course, there are plenty of other ways of saying “a couple of days”. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
“The sum for each pair of days is as shown in the table.”
“This intestinal antiseptic in the water for seven is the only liquid provided for a few days “.
“Neap range is the average smallest semi – daily range occurring one or two days after the moon is in quadrature.”
“What day precedes the day after tomorrow if four days ago was two days after Wednesday?”
Now you know what a “couple of days” means. And also , you now know what “a couple of days” actually means.
Some people think that the rules of language are set in stone, and we should always speak by the book. In reality, the way we use language changes. If you notice many people making the same mistake (such as saying “couple” when they mean three), it’s not people who need to change. It’s language.
In theory, a “couple of days” means two days. But in reality, it can mean anywhere from one to four. So the word “couple”, although technically it means two, in fact, it’s more of a general idea of time rather than a set number of days.
Martin is the founder of Grammarhow.com. With top grades in English and teaching experience at university level, he is on a mission to share all of his knowledge about the English language. Having written thousands of articles, he is an expert at explaining difficult topics in a simple language.
About Us We are on a mission to help you become better at English. As a group of experienced English writers, we enjoy sharing our knowledge in a language that everyone is able to understand.

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Couple Days Ago

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