Checking Spelling and Grammar

To Run a Spelling & Grammar Check:

 

1. Go to the Review tab.
2. Click on the Spelling & Grammar command.
 
The Spelling & Grammar command
 
3. The Spelling and Grammar dialog box will open. For each error in your document, Word will try to offer one or more suggestions. You can select a suggestion and then click Change to correct the error.
 
Correcting a spelling error
 
4. If no suggestions are given, you can manually type in the correct spelling.
 
Typing a correction

Ignoring "Errors"

 

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

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

For spelling "errors":

 

• Ignore Once: 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 this word in the document.
• Add to Dictionary: This adds the word to the dictionary so that it will never come up as an error. Make sure that the word is spelled correctly before choosing this option.

For grammar "errors":

 

• Ignore Once: This will skip the "error" without changing it.
• Ignore Rule: This will skip this "error" as well as all other instances that relate to this grammar rule.
• Next Sentence: This skips the sentence without changing it, and leaves it marked as an error. That means it will still show up if you do another Spelling and Grammar check later on.

If you're not sure about a grammar error, you can click Explain to see why Word thinks it's an error. This can help you determine whether you want to change it or not.