Checking for Commonly Confused Words

The grammar checker built into Word can check for many different errors that can creep into your prose. One of the things it can check for is words that are commonly misused. For instance, some people often use "your" when they really want the contraction "you're." Word can check for obvious usage errors based on a list of commonly confused words.

The make sure that Word is checking for this type of grammar error in your documents, follow these steps:

1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. Word displays the Options dialog box.
2. Make sure the Spelling & Grammar tab is selected if you are using Word 97 or later versions. If you are using Word 6 or Word 95, make sure the Grammar tab is selected.
3. Click on the Settings button (Word 97 or later) or the Customize Settings button (Word 6 or Word 95). Word displays the Grammar Settings dialog box.
4. Make sure the Commonly Confused Words check box is selected.
5. Click on OK twice to close the dialog boxes.

If you are using Word 97 or later and you want to see a list of the confusing words that the grammar checker checks, then do the following after step 4, above:

1. Click on the small question mark button in the upper-right corner of the dialog box.
2. Click on the check box for Commonly Confused Words. Word displays a quick explanation of what the grammar rule checks for.
3. Click on the >> button in the explanation. Word displays a much lengthier explanation of the options in the Grammar Settings dialog box.
4. In the explanation are for Commonly Confused Words, click on the >> button. A full list of words appears.
5. When done, close all the dialog boxes.