2

My MS Word says the use of it's - example: 'Don’t worry, it’s ok now' - is incorrect. It wants to change it to its. I use both UK and USA format but both do this. Surely I've got it right. What are your thoughts, anyone? Thank you.

ML Allan
  • 29
  • 2
  • 6
    Rule 1. Turn off Word's grammar checker. – Andrew Leach Jul 18 '17 at 09:35
  • 5
    Rule 2. What Andrew Leach said. – NVZ Jul 18 '17 at 10:03
  • Abbreviations such as "ok" should be written in capital letters OK. Likewise, maybe the grammar checker prefers the full form, it is. Write it out as two words and see if Word still marks it wrong. If it insists that it should be its then there are two things 1. You have not written the sentence out in full, maybe you have only transcribe a fragment, we don't know, maybe you didn't add a period. We don't know. So please edit your question and include the preceding sentence(s), and the one that follows. 2. Word is completely and utterly bonkers. – Mari-Lou A Jul 18 '17 at 11:18
  • In this case, Word is wrong; you're correct. I won't go so far as to agree with Andrew Leach and NVZ, but I will advise you always to take the advice of Word's grammar checker with a grain of salt. Or perhaps more than a grain. – Jeff Zeitlin Jul 18 '17 at 11:26
  • 2
    What exactly is the point of this question? Why are you using a tool that you know for a fact is broken? Any why are you asking us why it is broken rather than submitting a bug report to the manufacturer? – RegDwigнt Jul 18 '17 at 12:32
  • Word and other grammar checkers will sometimes flag words that are commonly confused, not to indicate that they're wrong, but to call attention to the possibility that they might be. – Jim Mack Jul 18 '17 at 17:38
  • @RegDwigHt - "...a tool that you know for a fact is broken." - Where is that 'fact' established? – Mark D Worthen PsyD Jul 18 '17 at 18:15
  • @RegDwigнt - Also, the OP's question is quite specific, and seems perfectly legitimate. Your comment comes across as rude. I see that you have tremendous experience and expertise on this site and on stack exchange in general, so I am perplexed. Am I missing something? – Mark D Worthen PsyD Jul 18 '17 at 18:20

2 Answers2

0

In this clear and surely not rare case Word is wrong. As far as I know Word'sv spelling and grammar checkers are too mechanical. I only use the warnings and complaints to double check with a more reliable source.

John Doe IV
  • 121
  • Word may be getting confused at the usage of "ok". According to this question, spell checkers do not like the use of "ok" and expect "OK" (or presumably "okay"). This question is about Gmail but I would expect Google to have an equally adequate spell checker compared to Microsoft (if not better, from personal experience). – Flater Jul 18 '17 at 09:52
  • @Flater. You are right. My 2010 version of Word does not flag an error for the sentence when it has OK. Although I might have expected it to flag the comma splice! – Shoe Jul 18 '17 at 10:24
  • @Shoe: In general, it seems acceptable to allow a comma before a "subject verb". (Look at the previous sentence!) There may be fringe exceptions to this, but it is correct enough that you can expect a spell checker to implement such a rule. – Flater Jul 18 '17 at 10:41
0

You can add "it’s" to the dictionary, since your dictionary is missing it. You can maybe choose another dictionary that supports it.

Assil
  • 119
  • 2
    It's the *grammar* checker that complains, not the *spelling* checker. Even MIcrosoft Word knows the word "it's". – Peter Shor Jul 18 '17 at 12:10