Check The Document For Writing Errors

Lesson 25: Checking Spelling and Grammar

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Introduction

Worried about making mistakes when you type? Don't be. Word provides you with several proofing features—including the Spelling and Grammar tool—that can help you produce professional, error-free documents.

Optional: Download our practice document.

To run a Spelling and Grammar check:

From the Review tab, click the Spelling & Grammar command.
The Spelling & Grammar command
The Spelling and Grammar pane will appear. For each error in your document, Word will try to offer one or more suggestions. You can select a suggestion and click Change to correct the error.
Correcting a spelling error
Word will move through each error until you have reviewed all of them. After the last error has been reviewed, a dialog box will appear confirming that the spelling and grammar check is complete. Click OK.
Clicking OK

If no suggestions are given, you can manually type the correct spelling in your document.

Screenshot of Word 2013 Typing a correction

Ignoring "errors"

The spelling and grammar check is not always correct. Particularly with grammar, there are many errors Word will not notice. There are also times when the spelling and grammar check will say something is an error when it's actually not. This often happens with people's names, which may not be in the dictionary.

If Word says something is an error, you can choose not to change it. Depending on whether it's a spelling or grammatical error, you can choose from several options:

For spelling "errors":

Ignore: This will skip the word without changing it.
Ignore All: This will skip the word without changing it, and it will also skip all other instances of the word in the document.
Add: This adds the word to the dictionary so it will never come up as an error. Make sure the word is spelled correctly before choosing this option.
Ignoring an error

For grammar "errors":

Ignore: This will skip the word or phrase without changing it.

Screenshot of Word 2013 Explanation of a grammar error

For grammar errors, Word provides an explanation for why it thinks something is incorrect. This can help you determine whether you want to change or ignore it.

Automatic spelling and grammar checking

By default, Word automatically checks your document for spelling and grammar errors, so you may not even need to run a separate check. These errors are indicated by colored, wavy lines.

The red line indicates a misspelled word.
The blue line indicates a grammatical error, including misused words.
Spelling and grammar errors

A misused word —also known as a contextual spelling error—occurs when a word is spelled correctly but used incorrectly. For example, if you used the phrase Deer Mr. Theodore at the beginning of a letter, deer would be a contextual spelling error. Deer is spelled correctly, but it is used incorrectly in the letter. The correct word is dear.

In previous versions of Word, grammar errors were marked with a green line, while contextual spelling errors were marked with a blue line.

To correct spelling errors:

Right-click the underlined word. A menu will appear.
Select the correct spelling from the list of suggestions.
Correcting a spelling error
The corrected word will appear in the document.

You can also choose to Ignore All instances of an underlined word or add it to the dictionary.

To correct grammar errors:

Right-click the underlined word or phrase. A menu will appear.
Select the correct spelling or phrase from the list of suggestions.
Correcting a grammar error
The corrected phrase will appear in the document.

You can also choose to Ignore an underlined word or phrase or go to the Spelling & Grammar pane for information about the grammar rule.

To change the automatic spelling and grammar check settings:

Click the File tab to go to Backstage view, then click Options.
Clicking Options
A dialog box will appear. On the left side of the dialog box, select Proofing. The dialog box gives you several options to choose from:
- If you don't want Word to automatically check spelling, uncheck Check spelling as you type.
- If you don't want grammar errors to be marked, uncheck Mark grammar errors as you type.
- If you don't want Word to check for contextual errors, uncheck Frequently confused words.
Changing the proofing options

By default, Word does not check for sentence fragments (incomplete sentences) and run-on sentences. To turn on this feature, click Settings in the dialog box, then check the box next to Fragments and Run-ons.

Screenshot of Word 2013 Checking for fragments and run-on sentences

If you've turned off the automatic spelling and/or grammar checks, you can still run a check by going to the Review tab and clicking the Spelling & Grammar button.

To hide spelling and grammar errors in a document:

If you're sharing a document like a resume with someone, you might not want that person to see the red and blue lines. Turning off the automatic spelling and grammar checks only applies to your computer, so the lines may still show up when someone else views your document. Fortunately, Word allows you to hide spelling and grammar errors so the lines will not show up on any computer.

Click the File tab to go to Backstage view, then click Options.
Clicking Options
A dialog box will appear. On the left side of the dialog box, select Proofing.
Check the box next to Hide spelling errors in this document only and Hide grammar errors in this document only, then click OK.
Hiding spelling and grammar errors
The lines in the document will be hidden.