Good Online/App Grammar Checkers?

[ValerieCook]

Hey there! I’m new to this forum so I hope this is the right board to ask this in. I apologize if I need a redirect.

I’m an amateur writer that is just getting back into writing fiction for the first time in several years. As you may expect, my grammar skills, most notably my punctuation skills, are pretty lacking. Even after performing what I thought was meticulous editing, I still ended up getting a story rejected mainly due to those punctuation errors. I write on the Scrivner App for the iPad, and I have learned that its spellcheck/grammar check is pretty much non-existent. I know the desktop version has it, but the app does not.

I ran my story through some general grammar checker I found online and suddenly saw the several basic errors I had overlooked. Not a good feeling to experience, but I at least want to learn from it.

As many would suggest, I’m going to hunt for an editor eventually. However, I do not want an editor to have to waste their time fixing basic errors such as its/it’s, “What” she said “are you doing?”, and basic spelling mistakes.

Are there any apps or websites you might recommend I can run my work through to check for these errors given a lack of spellcheck or grammarcheck in my current writing workstation? I’ve looked at Grammarly, but on the IOS it only functions as a suggestion keyboard. An on-screen-only keyboard that won’t check your physical keyboard typing at all, nor will it check grammar of what has been written.

Thank you all for your time

 

[Rustyoznail]

Welcome Valerie

Pop over to the Authors forum and ask there as well. I write in Google Docs and use the free version of Grammarly. The iPad version takes a bit of getting used to, but it's ok. I generally write the story on the iPad/Android phone, then use my work laptop to do the editing with the Grammarly extension for Chrome. It doesn't run up any red flags with our IT department.

For a free program, it's not too bad. Take what it suggests with a handful of salt, as it can be a bit aggressive for fiction.

The problem with a lot of online checkers is they have a limited free trial - the first 1000 words, 7 days, that sort of thing.

Good luck with your writing.

 

[ALdenteNoodle]

Welcome Valerie

Pop over to the Authors forum and ask there as well. I write in Google Docs and use the free version of Grammarly. The iPad version takes a bit of getting used to, but it's ok. I generally write the story on the iPad/Android phone, then use my work laptop to do the editing with the Grammarly extension for Chrome. It doesn't run up any red flags with our IT department.

For a free program, it's not too bad. Take what it suggests with a handful of salt, as it can be a bit aggressive for fiction.

The problem with a lot of online checkers is they have a limited free trial - the first 1000 words, 7 days, that sort of thing.

Good luck with your writing.

100% agree! I mirror these efforts. I have used scribens.com, grammarcheck.net, ginger.com. A very useful tool is powerthesauruses.org

 

[Tigersman]

What most systems lack is a program that checks syntax. I've found as an editor spellcheck only tells the author if a word is spelled incorrectly, not if it's the wrong word. Tis is one of the reasons I edit each story twice before returning it to the author.

 

[AmyoVs]

"When I wrote my thesis I used Free Grammar Check-Grammarly. This is a pretty good app, so I hope it will help you. By the way, if we started talking about grammar, I would like to ask you one question. My nephew is coming to see me soon. He is 7 years old and has lived in Germany all his life. He is in the 2nd grade and during these 2 years, he has learned a little English. I would like to train his English. Especially his speaking and reading skills. Perhaps you know sites where I could find good reading comprehension 2nd-grade worksheets? That would really help me.
"

 

[Todger65]

Grammarly is reasonable but not fallible. Tigersman is correct, they are only really any good at checking spelling. Their grammar suggestions are not alway correct. Their favourite is it doesn’t matter which of ‘its’ or ‘it’s’ you type in, it always suggests the other.

 

[gw3n]

I use the Grammarly paid version (on a yearly subscription it's about $120)

Literotica isn't my only writing gig. The paid version catches way more than the free version.

Using the grammar checking software has improved my writing as it not only corrects but it explains why.

Look forward to seeing your creativity!
Gw3n