Spelling and grammar

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. Word underlines your mistakes in colour. But can it catch every mistake? Today we will learn how spelling and grammar checking works in Word, and where it can fail.

A data entry operator's work goes to offices, banks and customers. One wrong spelling in a name or address can cause real problems. Word checks spelling and grammar to help you. But the final check is always your own careful reading.

Word checks your text as you type. A red wavy underline means a possible spelling mistake. A blue double underline means a possible grammar or punctuation problem. A dotted purple line marks a refinement, like a clearer or shorter way to write. In older versions of Word, grammar used a green wavy line.

The quickest fix is the right click. Right click the underlined word. Word shows suggestions at the top of the menu. Click the correct suggestion, and the word is replaced.

Checking line by line is slow. To check the full document at once, press F7. You can also click Review, then Editor, or Spelling and Grammar. The Editor pane opens on the right side. It goes through each mistake one by one, so you do not miss any.

For each mistake, the Editor pane gives choices. Click a suggestion to change the word. Ignore Once skips this one place only. Ignore All skips the word everywhere in this document. Add to Dictionary teaches Word the word, so it is never marked again.

Word often marks correct Indian names and place names, like Kwickprep or Vadodara. These are not errors. If the word is used often, choose Add to Dictionary. For a one time word, choose Ignore All. Never accept a suggestion that changes a person's name.

Pause and predict. You type a sentence saying you will meat a friend at the station. Will Word mark meat with a red wavy line? No, because meat is a correct spelling. It is the wrong word. Word may or may not catch it as grammar, so you must read your work.

The checker is a helper, not a teacher. It misses real words used in the wrong place, like there and their. It cannot know if a number, date or amount is correct. It can mark correct names as mistakes. So always proofread, which means reading the final text slowly and carefully.

AutoCorrect fixes common typing errors on its own as you type. For example, teh becomes the. It also capitalises the first letter of a sentence. You can add your own entries in File, Options, Proofing, AutoCorrect Options. Press Ctrl+Z at once to undo an unwanted AutoCorrect change.

The checker needs the right language. English for India and English for the United States spell some words differently, like colour and color. To set it, select the text, then go to Review, Language, Set Proofing Language. Indian offices normally use the British style of spelling.

The Review tab has two more helpers. Word Count, or Ctrl+Shift+G, shows words, characters, paragraphs and lines. The Thesaurus, Shift+F7, suggests words with the same meaning, called synonyms. Use it to avoid repeating one word again and again.

Let us revise. A red wavy line is spelling, and a blue double line is grammar. Right click for a quick fix, or press F7 to check the whole document. Ignore Once, Ignore All and Add to Dictionary handle correct words. The checker misses wrong words that are spelled right, so always proofread. Practise by typing a letter with five mistakes and fixing them with F7.