How to Check Grammar in Microsoft Word

By eHow Computers Editor

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Microsoft Word will not eliminate the need for you to know basic grammar, but it does give you a heads-up when it detects you may have violated a rule of grammar. This is a helpful proofreading tool highlighting areas of your draft that might need some additional focus.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Step1

Open Microsoft Word and choose "Options" from the "Tools" menu. Select the "Spelling and Grammar" tab from the window that comes up.

Step2

Look for the "Grammar" section at the lower portion of the window. Check the box that says "Check grammar as you type." Microsoft Word will now underline any possible grammatical mistakes as they arise in your typing.

Step3

Type your document and look for wavy green underlines to your text. Microsoft Word underlines possibly misspelled words in red and possible grammar errors in green.

Step4

Right-click on the text underlined in green for a list of options. Microsoft Word may offer you a suggestion for changing your sentence, or a tip such as suggesting you revise a sentence fragment.

Step5

Left-click on a suggested revision to replace the underlined text with it. Choose "Ignore Once" to have Microsoft Word ignore the possible mistake only this time. Microsoft Word continues to check your document for this same type of error.

Step6

Choose "Grammar" from the drop down menu for more options and explanation of the possible error the grammar check found.

Step7

Select "About This Sentence" for detailed explanation of why the grammar check detected a possible error. This can help you decide if your sentence does actually violate the rule of grammar. For this option, you will need to have the office assistant enabled.

Tips & Warnings

Clicking the "Open Book" icon in the Word status bar at the bottom of the Microsoft Word window highlights potential spelling and grammar errors. Click the icon repeatedly to cycle through all the possible errors.
Microsoft Word's grammar check is not always correct. Use it as a reference, but always check your writing with other grammar sources.

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Comments

dcorliss said

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on 4/12/2008 In my own personal experience, the "fragment" check in Microsoft Word is so unintelligent as to be nearly useless. In particular, the grammar checker appears to be quite incapable of dealing with sentences with multiple clauses. Such situations are often used to connect two separate ideas. When one item is the direct consequence of another, multiple clauses are used to show the relationship. The sentence I am using at the moment - the non-fragment that MicroSoft word incorrectly flags as a fragment - is: "Being a relaxed system, the density of the ICM increases." (See how I write in strings of connected thought? I'm a scientist - so sue me!) Fragments lack either a complete Subject or Predicate; here the noun in the subject is "density" and the verb in the predicate is "increases". "Density increases." most certainly is a sentence (and MicroSoft Word identifies it as such) but it remains

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