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"A couple more inches of snow came at us."

"In his paper, a couple factors held him back."

Those are just a couple (of) examples of killing the "of" after the word "couple." But don't worry; the "of"-icide detectives are on the case, and they've agreed to answer your questions.

Q: Is it always wrong to drop the "of" after "couple"?

A: In formal writing, yes. But in casual writing or speech, the "of"-less "couple" conveys a relaxed, folksy tone.

The Minnesota raconteur Garrison Keillor, for instance, loves to sit on the front porch and swat away "of"s, e.g., "Mr. Shaw himself still operated a couple wagons for hire"; "In the next couple months we got to know each other like real buddies."

""Of-icide occurs most often before numbers and periods of time, e.g., "A couple thousand fans were in the stands"; "Only a couple dozen members signed up."

And it occasionally pops up in prestigious newspapers, especially in feature stories where a casual tone is intended, e.g., "He'd begun mowing people's lawns and selling eggplants out of his garden to neighbors for a couple dollars each" (Washington Post, May 1, 2021); "She said she was disappointed that only a couple people on the train asked for a selfie." (Boston Globe, March 6, 2026)

Q: Does "couple" always denote two items?

A: Nope. Sometimes it can mean "a few" or "several." It's fine to refer to a three-day period as "a couple of days," or to four items in your shopping cart as "a couple of things."

Q: Is there anywhere in the world where "of"-icide is perfectly legal?

A: You bet -- in the sovereign state of Comparison. When a couple is followed by comparison words, such as "more," "fewer" and "too many," the "of" is dropped.

We say, for instance, "I'll have a couple more donuts" because neither "a couple of more donuts" or "a couple more of donuts" makes sense.

Q: As long as we're on the subject, should "couple" be treated as a singular or plural noun?

A: When the couple is considered as a unit, use "is," e.g., "The couple is moving to the state of Comparison." But when the couple is thought of as two separate people, they use "are," e.g., "The couple attended different colleges."

But even if "couple" is treated as singular, we often use a plural pronoun because the singular pronoun ("its") sounds funny, e.g., "One couple is renovating their (not 'its)' house."

Q: What's the biggest factor causing couples to uncouple?

A: Disagreements over the proper use of the word "couple."

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Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Copyright 2026 Creators Syndicate Inc.