I need something very simple that can catch grammar errors.
I need something very simple that can catch grammar errors.
Doesn't grammarly.com have a free version? Not that any grammar checker will catch a lot (and often give bad advice).
It doesn't seem to work on Open Office Writer which I use.
I use Word but, from what I've heard here, you should migrate from OpenOffice to LibreOffice. Both are similar and free. The people here claim LibreOffice has had better updates. And I think someone said they use grammarly with LibreOffice so that would solve that problem too.
In the beginning there was Star Office. It was good but not enough people bought it and Sun Microsystems ended up buying it. Since people were still flocking to use Word, Sun ended up making it open source and offering free downloads as "Open Office".
Then Larry Ellison's Oracle took Sun over. They also bought MySQL out - open source database - at around the same time. The combination Larry Ellison ./. open source turned out to be a bust, both MySQL and Open Office forked with most of the developers heading for the forked projects MariaDB and LibreOffice.
I have no idea how MySQL and MariaDB are getting on, but Open Office survives as a pay-for-support Office packet for companies who don't want to fork out for Word (is that a market?) while LibreOffice has become dominant.
If you're on Windows, check that you have the latest version of Grammarly for Windows, which works across all apps. It's one of those "floating" things that sits on top of whatever app you're using to check the text.
Failing that, you can copy/paste text into the Grammarly website to do the same job.
But do be prepared to be peppered with adverts for the paid version.
I use Word's grammar checker all the time. Unfortunately, the majority of its recommendations are wrong. One of its more common errors is, if you have a plural subject, it recommends that you use the singular verb form. The more complex the sentence, the more likely it is to suggest inappropriate changes.
However, it will occasionally find a error I made, so I use it.
I found that Google Docs is surprisingly good in grammar and spellchecking, provided you properly set the document's language.
I have been pleased with Libre Office.
It is at least as good as MS Word/Office.
It is far from perfect, and you have to have some knowledge of grammar, too. I use it to "notice" grammar errors. When I write dialog I sometimes, often, don't use "perfect" grammar, for most characters.
Similar to MS Word and Office, you may add to the dictionary. I always double check before adding a word.
If you find something better, Please let us know!
I have been pleased with Libra Office.
You mean LibreOffice? That's what comes of not spellchecking your posts!
As to the original requirement of "a decent online proofreader?", this is SOL so an indecent one may be necessary - depending on the content.
On more than one occasion, I clicked add to dictionary, and then realized the word was misspelled. I hate having to find MY mistakes in MY dictionary and deleting them.
Whilst you are talking about dictionaries…
Why do they put copyright notices in dictionaries? Who the hell buys a dictionary without any intention of using the words it contains?
Or is it only breach of copyright if you use the words in strictly alphabetical order?
Luckily, it is not a copyright issue if you misspell a word.
"This story contains intentionally misspelled words so as to avoid copyright infringement."
It won't fly with the grammar nazis.
:)
It won't fly with the grammar nazis.
Do grammar nazis fly? I imagined them crawling along the ground when they're not hiding under rocks.
AJ
Do grammar nazis fly?
Of course they do or did.
Who do you think Snoopy used for target practise before he went after the Red Baron?
I imagine it's so you can't just literally publish the entire book as "Bob's Dictionary" or whatever. I wonder if they put in fake words to catch theft the way they put fake towns on maps.
I was driving through the wilds of NC - or maybe it was GA, this was a long time ago - and discovered that the very minor road I was intending to take only existed in my Rand McNally and not in real life.
Worse was a map of the Crimea years later, three villages were in the map twice, and some of the roads shown on the Black Sea coast bore very little resemblance to what was actually there. That all became rather academic 14-15 months later when the Russians moved in.
I sometimes, often, don't use "perfect" grammar, for most characters.
I don't think I have ever met a person who uses perfect grammar when they talk. Like your characters, mine have grammatical flaws in the dialog.
For LibreOffice there are Lightproof and LanguageTool, whether those are still compatible with Open Office I do not know.
I'm quite partial to ProWritingAid. It does have a free version; that version has some fairly significant limits.
You can often get half off the lifetime version (hint: NaNoWriMo has some good discounts, and it's coming up) but the free version will let you see what you think.
Their integrations are nice, though, and you can't really try them without paying.
Thanks for the feedback. I will experiment. The site has a posting proofreader now. I see it also can be made premium.