Re: [libreoffice-users] Good English Grammar checker?

Hi :)

Yes, re-reading a document yourself is quite effective but if you made the 
mistake in the first place you are the least likely person to spot it.  Another 
person, almost anyone is often better.

There is a similar problem, perhaps the same one in many ways, to do with 
translation software.  Things like Babel fish or google-translate can give a 
good starting point but do create some hilariously bad errors.  


Take a phrase "out of sight, out of mind" meaning something like "if you can't 
see the problem then don't worry about it (yet)".  Translate it and then 
translate it back and find it warped into something bizarre like "invisible 
idiot". Or try "Pull the other leg (it's got bells on)" presumably a reference 
to Morris Dancing and means something like "I think you are trying to fool me 
into believing something ridiculous for fun".  Sometimes it is difficult to 
avoid odd phrases but even if writing is kept bland enough there can still be 
problems that are unclear until a translation is attempted.

The line "Good English Grammar checker?" looks fairly appalling to me but it 
makes sense and is perfect for a subject-line as it gets straight to the point 
and is very informative.  Subject-lines are often good when they are a bit like 
txtin language but less extreme (Xtrim?).#

My grammar is often bad but at the moment she's in the kitchen making tea.

Regards from
Tom :)






________________________________
From: MR ZenWiz <mrzenwiz@gmail.com>
To: users@libreoffice.org
Sent: Sun, 23 January, 2011 3:43:36
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] Good English Grammar checker?

Not sure which "you" you mean, but I have never seen a good grammar
checker anywhere.  Period.

Way back in the stone age (of WordStar), there was a thing called
GrammaTek that did a really bad job of grammar-checking, but things
have progressed a little since then.

Word's grammar checker is the best one I've seen although recently
I've noticed that LO is flagging some grammar errors and flagging them
for me.  Some are intentional due to the way I write or a point I'm
trying to make, but in general it makes me look at something that
might be wrong.

If you right-click a grammar-highlighted word or phrase, it should
tell you what it thinks is wrong with it.

However, grammar checkers don't catch misspelled words (spell checkers
do that), they sometimes catch misapplied homonyms, which is not the
same thing although it is or can be useful.

Personally, I prefer a human proof-reader, even if it's me, because at
least with English, grammar is too complex for most (not all) programs
to do it justice, whereas I can usually spot a grammo while reading
because they tend to jar my understanding enough to look twice.

On Sat, Jan 22, 2011 at 6:39 PM, webmaster@krackedpress.com
<webmaster@krackedpress.com> wrote:
> Are you telling us there is a Grammar Checker that will catch
> more then a miss spelling ward or too?

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