Introduction
Video: Spelling and Grammar
Optional: Download our practice document.
To run a Spelling and Grammar check:
- From the Review tab, click 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.
- 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.
If no suggestions are given, you can manually type the correct spelling in your document.
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.
For grammar "errors":
- Ignore: This will skip the word or phrase without changing it.
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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.