Usage note:The phrase
a couple of has been in standard use for centuries, especially with measurements of time and distance and in referring to amounts of money:
They walked a couple of miles in silence. Repairs will probably cost a couple of hundred dollars. The phrase is used in all but the most formal speech and writing. The shortened phrase
a couple, without
of (
The gas station is a couple miles from here), is an Americanism of recent development that occurs chiefly in informal speech or representations of speech. Without a following noun, the phrase is highly informal:
Jack shouldn't drive. I think he's had a couple. (Here the noun
drinks is omitted.)
In referring to two people,
couple, like many collective nouns, may take either a singular or a plural verb. Most commonly, it is construed as a plural:
The couple were traveling to Texas. See also collective noun. 
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