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Waiting for reviewApostrophes and possessivesCandidate #9775 · from the Puritas diff · puritas-full-2026-10-19

could'stcouldest

Apostrophes added or expanded, mostly possessives: gods → god's. Approve one at a time: some places are plurals.

Puritas changed it
131 times in 85 works
Consistency
85.6% (131 of 153)
Reach if approved
~161 places (estimated)
MorphAdorner
Disagrees: couldst
Matches
Exact word, any case
In our text
153 times in the 7,099 works compared
Other readings
None
Taken into joins
None

If approved, its rationale reads: “Suggested by the Puritas diff (131 changes in 85 works, 85.6% consistent).”

Where Puritas made the change (8 of 131)

Our text, as printed and with the candidate applied
  1. Printed
    … it was a time of Love; even a time before all times: What Friend could'ſtcouldest thou then make in Heaven? What Interceſſour hadſt thou then, when there was nothing …
    With rule
    … it was a time of Love; even a time before all times: What Friend could'ſtcouldest thou then make in Heaven? What Interceſſour hadſt thou then, when there was nothing …

    Ezekiel Hopkins · Sermons Volume 2 · p. 21 · Open in the reader

  2. Printed
    Though nothing in us could'ſtcouldest eſpy
    With rule
    Though nothing in us could'ſtcouldest eſpy

    Benjamin Keach · Spiritual Melody · p. 87 · Open in the reader

  3. Printed
    … and deſtroy thy own, and only Darling Self (thy Soul) which the whole World, (could'ſtcouldest thou gain it) would be infinitely below its worth, and would prove in the …
    With rule
    … and deſtroy thy own, and only Darling Self (thy Soul) which the whole World, (could'ſtcouldest thou gain it) would be infinitely below its worth, and would prove in the …

    Samuel Pomfret · Sermon Preached to Young People · p. 19 · Open in the reader

  4. Printed
    … thou but pleaſe Dionyſius, thou need'ſt not eat herbs and roots; the Philoſopher anſwered, could'ſtcouldest thou but eat herbs and roots, thou needeſt not to pleaſe Dionyſius. To the …
    With rule
    … thou but pleaſe Dionyſius, thou need'ſt not eat herbs and roots; the Philoſopher anſwered, could'ſtcouldest thou but eat herbs and roots, thou needeſt not to pleaſe Dionyſius. To the …

    Ralph Venning · Canaans Flowings · p. 185 · Open in the reader

  5. Printed
    … able to doe that which no naturall man can doe, and which thy selfe could'stcouldest never doe before; for, otherwise what wilt thou have to answer for thy selfe …
    With rule
    … able to doe that which no naturall man can doe, and which thy selfe could'stcouldest never doe before; for, otherwise what wilt thou have to answer for thy selfe …

    John Preston · The Saints Qualification · p. 91 · Open in the reader

  6. Printed
    … doth consist in performing such a duty, or leaving such a sin that thou could'stcouldest not well live in. It is pittiful to think, how many take the leaving …
    With rule
    … doth consist in performing such a duty, or leaving such a sin that thou could'stcouldest not well live in. It is pittiful to think, how many take the leaving …

    Joseph Alleine · Remains of Joseph Alleine · p. 300 · Open in the reader

  7. Printed
    … you for your ſins, and yet thou haſt ſpoken and done evil as thou could'ſtcouldest; this is an evil thing, and heavy to be laid to the charge of …
    With rule
    … you for your ſins, and yet thou haſt ſpoken and done evil as thou could'ſtcouldest; this is an evil thing, and heavy to be laid to the charge of …

    Jeremiah Burroughs · Gospel Remission · p. 92 · Open in the reader

  8. Printed
    … man to a knowledge, that that that he did was ſin. But if thou could'ſtcouldest conſider that every ſin is a Crucifying of Chriſt, and every ſin is a …
    With rule
    … man to a knowledge, that that that he did was ſin. But if thou could'ſtcouldest conſider that every ſin is a Crucifying of Chriſt, and every ſin is a …

    John Donne · Twenty-Six Sermons · p. 332 · Open in the reader

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Places Puritas left as printed: likely exceptions (22)

12 of them are in works where Puritas changed it elsewhere, so their places are known; 10 more are in works where it never changed. Each is our text, as the rule would change it.

The Purple Island A00977

  • Printed
    Could'stCouldest thou unmask their pomp, unbreast their heart,
    With rule
    Could'stCouldest thou unmask their pomp, unbreast their heart,

    Phineas Fletcher · The Purple Island · p. 25 · Open in the reader

Poetical Fragments A26987

  • Printed
    Could'ſtCouldest thou expect to ſee no Seas?
    With rule
    Could'ſtCouldest thou expect to ſee no Seas?

    Richard Baxter · Poetical Fragments · p. 79 · Open in the reader

Divine Passions Piously and Pathetically Expressed A32308

  • Printed
    Could'ſtCouldest thou give credence to that heav'nly warrant.
    With rule
    Could'ſtCouldest thou give credence to that heav'nly warrant.

    Edward Calver · Divine Passions Piously and Pathetically Expressed · p. 86 · Open in the reader

The Lives of Sundry Eminent Persons A33330

  • Printed
    Could'stCouldest thou not brook a little more delay?
    With rule
    Could'stCouldest thou not brook a little more delay?

    Samuel Clarke · The Lives of Sundry Eminent Persons · p. 54 · Open in the reader

The Redeemers Tears Wept over Lost Souls A44688

  • Printed
    … come not to him, and are not willing to come to God by him? Could'stCouldest thou think, living under the Gospel, that the reconciliation between God and thee was …
    With rule
    … come not to him, and are not willing to come to God by him? Could'stCouldest thou think, living under the Gospel, that the reconciliation between God and thee was …

    John Howe · The Redeemers Tears Wept over Lost Souls · p. 41 · Open in the reader

Of Quenching the Spirit A55333

  • Printed
    … the spirit in time of sickness, and hast thou none in time of health? Could'stCouldest thou not make thy peace without the spirit, and dost think thou canst keep …
    With rule
    … the spirit in time of sickness, and hast thou none in time of health? Could'stCouldest thou not make thy peace without the spirit, and dost think thou canst keep …

    Theophilus Polwheile · Of Quenching the Spirit · p. 42 · Open in the reader

Divine Comforts A59579

  • Printed
    … Oh the heatheniſhneſs of thy Worldly Luſts! Oh the deviliſhneſs of thy Spiritual Wickedneſs! Could'ſtCouldest thou but command a view of them in their malignant, venomous, helliſh Nature, all …
    With rule
    … Oh the heatheniſhneſs of thy Worldly Luſts! Oh the deviliſhneſs of thy Spiritual Wickedneſs! Could'ſtCouldest thou but command a view of them in their malignant, venomous, helliſh Nature, all …

    Thomas Sharpe · Divine Comforts · p. 377 · Open in the reader

Suffolks Tears A61970

  • Printed
    Could'ſtCouldest thou but hear our plaints, but hear our groans,
    With rule
    Could'ſtCouldest thou but hear our plaints, but hear our groans,

    Samuel Fairclough Jr · Suffolks Tears · p. 14 · Open in the reader

Remains A65835

  • Printed
    Could'ſtCouldest ſpeak thy meſſage with a ſtately grace,
    With rule
    Could'ſtCouldest ſpeak thy meſſage with a ſtately grace,

    Thomas Wadsworth · Remains · p. 195 · Open in the reader

Poems A69225

  • Printed
    Could'ſtCouldest give both life, and ſenſe, unto a flower.
    With rule
    Could'ſtCouldest give both life, and ſenſe, unto a flower.

    John Donne · Poems · p. 398 · Open in the reader

Enochs Walk and Change A87420

  • Printed
    Could'ſtCouldest thou not brook a little more delay,
    With rule
    Could'ſtCouldest thou not brook a little more delay,

    Thomas Jacombe · Enochs Walk and Change · p. 53 · Open in the reader

The Doctrine of the Three Sacred Persons A95611

  • Printed
    Could'ſtCouldest thou forbear
    With rule
    Could'ſtCouldest thou forbear

    Faithful Teate · The Doctrine of the Three Sacred Persons · p. 3 · Open in the reader