Grammar, punctuation, and spelling, oh my!

It’s no secret that I am a bad, bad, terrible speller. In fact, it is one of two classes that I ever failed: 5th-grade spelling and 9th grade Spanish.

My kids are getting old enough that the words they want me to spell are not ones I know by heart and I have to say, “I’m not sure how to spell that, let’s look it up.”

My husband, on the other hand, will launch into how to spell a word and then give them a lesson on grammar or punctuation too. I make sure to listen in cause I always learn something new!

You might be asking yourself, “how did such a bad speller end up writing for a living?” Today I’m going to tell you my secret… Grammarly!

What is Grammarly?

Grammarly is a combination of spell check and grammar check wrapped up in an easy to use browser add on. I use Chrome and it was super easy to install the extension. After you have created a free account Grammarly will start showing you what needs correcting with a little red circle with a number in the bottom right of your screen.

Grammarly works just about everywhere, social media, word processing software, email and more!

When you are ready to correct your errors you just click on each underlined word and it will give you the correct spelling or grammar change.

When I first started using it I was surprised to learn that I was using commas all wrong. Most of my commas should have been periods because I was using them to separate complete thoughts. Now I am much better at using them correctly.

The downside of Grammarly

There are two things that I don't like about Grammarly. First, if you use it in WordPress it will often duplicate paragraphs when you hit enter. It doesn't always do it, but unless you are watching closely you can end up with the same paragraph twice in a row.

Second, Grammarly doesn't work with Google Docs. Since I have a Chromebook I only use Google Docs and have been frustrated with Grammarly not integrating.

Luckily, Grammarly gives you the option of writing in their document editor. It is a simple page that lets you type and correct your work and then download it to your destination. This is the perfect work around for both problems!

My experience with Grammarly

I use the free version of Grammarly and have come to rely on it. I have used a regular spell checker in the past which is great but really my grammar knowledge is just as bad.

Grammarly is not flashy, or overly dramatic. The little notification just sits on the edge of my screen until I am ready to face my mistakes.

When I'm typing in the document editor it is very easy to see what is wrong since they have the correction listed on the right-hand side. It is also very easy to tell Grammarly to ignore a mistake or add a word to its dictionary.

There is also an upgraded version that will help you with your grammar even more.  I have been very pleased with Grammarly's free version and have not upgraded yet. It is something to think about in the future though as my blog grows.

I think my favorite part of Grammarly has been the improvement I can see in my writing. I have learned so much about grammar rules and punctuation in the last few months.

If you struggle with spelling, grammar or punctuation, download Grammarly today!