grammar

G

Guest

If I make a grammatical error and Word finds it, it puts up its window to
display the text and to let me correct it, but it won't explain what the
error is. The manual says there is an 'Explain' button on the window, but
there isn't. Can anyone tell me what's wrong, please?
 
G

Guest

There should be an Explain button under the Change button, which is under the
Next Sentance button, which is under the Ignore Rule button, which is under
the Ignore Once button. What version of Word are you using and can you give
an example of the text you are using?
 
J

Jezebel

My Word 2000 doesn't provide an Explain button either. However the rule used
is shown in the label above the upper box on the change dialog (rather
cryptically, eg "verb form", "duplicated word", etc). You can also see the
rule by clicking Options, then Settings on the Options dialog -- the
currently applied rule, if any, will be highlighted.
 
G

Guest

But there isn't. There used to be on Office 97, but it's vanished now I'm on
Office 2003. I'm not sure what use the text would be, and I don't know how to
attach a screenshot to a reply.
 
G

Guest

I was just curious about the text to see if we could replicate the problem. I
thought that perhaps for some "rules" MS provided an explanation, but for
others, perhaps it didn't. If I tried the text you are using and didn't have
the Explain option, then it might not be a problem with your installation...
Unfortunately the screenshot would not come through for most of us.
 
B

Beth Melton

Can you tell us how you are invoking the Grammar check? Are you using
the Spelling and Grammar command on the toolbar? Pressing F7? Using
Tools/Spelling and Grammar? Right-clicking?
--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
 
B

Beth Melton

If interested:

In Word 2002/2003 in the in the Spelling and Grammar dialog there is
an Explain command.

For Word 97/2000 click the "Assistant" bubble in the bottom left
corner of the dialog to obtain the explanation.

For Word 2000 - 2003 if you right-click the error in the document
there is an "About this sentence" command.

For Word 97 you can right-click and select "Grammar" to open the
dialog and then click the Assistant bubble.

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
 
G

Guest

Thanks, Beth, but you say, "In Word 2002/2003 in the in the Spelling and
Grammar dialog there is an Explain command." Not in my copy there isn't! And
'About this sentence' is ALWAYS greyed out. Is there something wrong with my
installation? It seemed to go smoothly enough.
 
G

Guest

No, yes, yes and yes. I also have automatic checking switched on. The dialog
box is identical for all these options.

Hope this helps.
 
G

Guest

This text shows the problem:

The cat was seated by the fire

One line, ^p at the end. The grammar sees that there is no full-stop, and
the style checker also picks up the use of a passive. The dialog box comes
up, and as Jezebel says (Thanks, J) it's fairly obvious in this case what the
issues are.

I have
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

For this sentence I get a "suggestion" of "the fire seated the cat" <g> but
no Explain button.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
B

Beth Melton

Interesting.

If I go to Tools/Options/Spelling and Grammar, click the Settings
command, and select "Grammar & Style" under the Writing style options,
Word will suggest the same alternative but I get an Explain command.

Suzanne and Adge, do you have SP-1 installed? If you go to Help/About
Microsoft Word what is the version number?

Also, does the same occur if you start Word using the /a switch? Go to
Start/Run and run:

winword /a

Note the space before the forward slash.

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

Yes, I have SP 1 installed, and I had Grammar & Style selected (if I select
Grammar Only, I don't get a correction at all).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

No, still no Explain button for this specific sentence ("The cat was seated
by the fire").

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
B

Beth Melton

Since the same occurs using all defaults I'm digging into this a
little deeper.

I consulted three computer manuals I had handy, two for Word 2003 and
one for Word 2002. One of the Word 2003 screen shots did not display
the Explain command but the others did.

Okay, I have half of this issue figured out: if you opt to Hide the
Office Assistant (turn on/off three times in a row) then the "About
this sentence" command on the shortcut menu is disabled.

So....based on that observation I'd say if Office Assistant isn't
installed then you don't get the Explain command since the critter is
used to display the explanation.

Sure enough, after setting the Office Assistant to "Not Available" in
Add/Remove Programs I don't the Explain command either.

There you have it, no critter, no Explain command in the Spelling and
Grammar dialog and "About this sentence" is not enabled on the
shortcut menu.

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
 
G

Guest

Thanks, Beth Melton. You are wonderful.

The paperclip was set to install on first use; now it's always installed and
I have an 'Explain' button!

Did I mention that you are wonderful?
 
B

Beth Melton

You are more than welcome and I'm glad to hear you have your Explain
button and that we finally came up with an 'explanation' for why it
doesn't appear. :)

btw, I do enjoy a good challenge so this exercise was beneficial to
both of us. Plus we've been able to solve yet another Word mystery -
who know there would be so many???

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
 

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