Microsoft Word’s grammar check is so ridiculous that normally I don’t use it. But in preparing recent books for publication, I ran the check, and it caught a few errors.
The process was tedious and boring, because I had to consider many recommendations such as these:
1. To put a question mark at the end of what seemed like hundreds of declarative sentences.
2. To change it’s to its when the construction was used like this: It’s all right. And the other way around: Its to It’s in constructions like its prize. Word seems totally confused about using pronouns as possessives and in contractions, but then so are a lot of people.
BUT–the grammar check was useful because it found a sentence where I’d somehow deleted the first word, two instances of word doubling, and an instance or two of double spaces. It also highlighted hyphenated words that I’d joined by a symbol that looks like but isn’t the em dash.
So it was worthwhile. Go ahead, run the grammar check. But only if you already know your English grammar. 🙂
Hi Carol
If things like spell check and grammar check were infallible, I’d have to wait too long to read your books!! And by the way, your latest is the greatest!!
Thanks, Michele. My sister said Midwinter Sun is the best, too. That makes me feel good.
In order to make good use of grammar checks, one must know grammar.
Excellent advice, P.C.!