TheNextBigWriter Premium → WORD is mentally challenged
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I really question the mental capabilities of those who program Word's grammar. In the following sentence, THEIR is highlighted, and the suggestion is THEY'RE.
Tor nodded, and they slid down the dome, quickening their pace the second their feet touch the flat of the vale.
This, folks, is why you need a REAL editor. Inbox me if you need my help.
That's interesting, Janet. I just typed the same sentence into my Word and nary a peep from it like yours. Maybe I have something turned off that you have checked in the grammar section. It did suggest, however, that I change "feet touch" to "feet touched".
Bill
I'm still on Office 2007 (runs on Windows 10!), so I just turned the feature off, as it's more annoying than helpful. There are some things software doesn't excel at yet. Try translating from English to another language using Google Translate, then translate back, and you'll see what I mean. Too many subtleties to language. Scholars still argue to this day about the translation of individual words in the Bible and how they affect the meaning of verses.
I use Word 2016 on one of my computers (I bounce between two due to my work) and while I very rarely have the word correction problem that you do, Janet, the program still regularly tries to suggest words in places that make absolutely no sense. I can't find any examples at the moment since I usually right-click and 'Ignore' it (those squiggly lines irritate me to no end), but it is highly aggravating when your word processor decides it's a better writer than you are.
I suggest you investigate Rosanoff's Three Laws of Nonsense.
Or you can accept that the Oxonians in Washington State are the world's greatest experts on English as actually she is spoken.
I use WordPerfect (X8 user here) religiously and it does the same, but only when you run a grammar check with Grammatik, which I never do, to be honest. I like the typo indicator, though. Too bad neither word processor doesn't notify you of words you done forgot to put in! Especially those little two-letter bastards! Argh!
I found one of those two-letter bastards in your short story for you. :-)
Like I said, there's always one... but in a 9500 word story, just one ain't not so bad!
I just installed Grammarly and have been very pleased with it so far....But I would still suggest as Janet said to employ an editor before sending work out to agents or publishers. There's nothing like the human touch....
Grammar checking requires something close to the strong AI problem
Most of the spelling checkers do the same: they fish for homophones. Supposedly, modern algorithms allow Word, and other software, to check the context and decide whether the word is properly used or not (i.e., with is the correct one, either the possessive adjective or the contraction [they + are]). In this case, however, it seems the algorithm didn't work properly, which doesn't mean it's broken. It means somebody told Word to check for words people may easily confuse (their/they're, its/it's).
That said, it's a rule of thumb any decent author must send her work to an editor before publishing it. INBOX me if you need one, I now a very good editor.
Kiss,
Gacela.
I just ignore the stuff that is nonsense. I just found it amusing b/c of their, there, they're. Word frequently makes ridiculous suggestions. I have Word 2016, and I think it's gotten progressively worse since my 93 version.
I am still using Word (well, actually Office) 2003. I've considered upgrading so I can add Grammarly (it won't support anything under Word 2012 - I think). Maybe I should investigate Wordperfect. I used to use it all the time but switched back in the old Pentium days.
Bill
Bill, my experience with other word processors is that they are not 100% compatible with MS Word file formats, no matter how hard they try. If you need compatibility for working with an outside editor, I suggest a newer version of MS Word. On the other hand, your Word 2003 file format probably doesn't port completely cleanly to Word 2016 either, so you'll probably have some formatting cleanup to do no matter which way to go.
Actually, Norm, I thought that might be the case, but a friend has Word 2016 and she can import my RTF files with no noticeable errors. I often write while I am on trips, and my laptop runs Ubuntu 16.10 and Apache Open Office Writer. That software also translates to/from Word 2003 just fine. It could very well be that I don't use any real fancy formatting tricks, though. OEWriter on Windows works the same. What is odd is that I've found (and reported) a bug in translation between OEWriter for Windows and OEWriter for LINUX.
Bill
I've noticed that NO programmed grammar feature is perfect. They are only as good as the programmer. I know nothing about computer programming, but I do know English grammar. Maybe I should contact Mircrosoft and make some $$$$$ fixing their (not they're) issues for the programmers to add. I'm POSITIVE they'd jump on that offer!!! Now, y'all know why I also write fiction--I have a vivid imagination.
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TheNextBigWriter Premium → WORD is mentally challenged
