How to check language in word

Why is my spell check not working in Word Mac?

Method 1: Set Document Language To set Document Language, follow these steps: Open a document in Word for Mac. Select the language dictionary you want the speller to use, such as English (US). Uncheck Do not check spelling or grammar, and then click OK.

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Set the Default Language

Go to Tools>Language, select your language, and click Default. This will affect all documents created from then on. You’ll need to fix old documents one-by one. (If you don’t have a Tools>Language entry, see here.)

You are highly advised to read How Spell-Checking Works in Word, as the notion of a «default language» doesn’t exactly apply to Word.

How to Turn On Spell Check in OS X or macOS Mail

To set your default spell-checking preference so that the spelling in every email is checked as you compose it:

1. Open the Mail app on your Mac.

2. Click Mail in the menu bar and select Preferences from the drop-down menu.

3. Click the Composing tab in the Mail preferences window.

4. Next to Check Spelling, select as I type from the drop-down menu.

As you type your email, any misspelled words are highlighted so that you can correct them.

How do I turn on AutoCorrect on Macbook?

Use autocorrection On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Text. Select the “Correct spelling automatically” checkbox.

Spell Check in Older Versions of Mail

To check the spelling as you type in Mac OS X Mail 1, 2, and 3:

1. Open the Mail app.

2. Select Edit > Spelling > Check Spelling As You Type from the Mac OS X Mail menu.

3. If Check Spelling As You Type is not checked, click on it to add a check mark.

Check spelling and grammar

In an app on your Mac, do any of the following:

• Check spelling: Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Document Now. The first error is highlighted. To show the next error, press Command-Semicolon (;). To see suggested spellings for a word, Control-click it.

• Check grammar: Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Grammar With Spelling (a tick shows it’s on). Grammar errors are underlined in green. Move the pointer over an underlined word to see a description of the problem.

  Note: Grammar checking is available only for English and Spanish.

• Ignore misspellings: Control-click a word, then choose Ignore Spelling. The word is ignored if it occurs again in the document (it is highlighted in other documents).

• Add words to the spelling dictionary: Control-click a word, then choose Learn Spelling. The word won’t be flagged as misspelled in any document.

• Remove a word from the spelling dictionary: Control-click a word, then choose Unlearn Spelling.

If you’re checking a long document, it may be easier to use the Spelling and Grammar window. Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Show Spelling and Grammar.

8. SpellCheckPlus

SpellCheckPlus is an affordable grammar check software that helps you learn more about writing, especially if English isn’t your first language.

The tool is a barebones grammar checker but it offers summaries about the errors it finds in your writing and provides context. SpellCheckPlus also doesn’t let you add custom words to a dictionary, use it outside of a browser, specify writing styles, and so on.

However, if you want a free and effective tool to use for quick checks, SpellCheckerPlus allows you to check extracts of up to 2,000 characters. Anything beyond the 2,000-word limit will require an upgrade to the premium plan.

SpellCheckerPlus doesn’t overwhelm you with errors like other tools listed here, but it uses process-based learning so you can fix one error at a time. The tool also explains to you why you’re committing spelling and grammar errors and gives you directions on what to do to address the errors.

SpellCheckerPlus Pricing

SpellCheckerPlus is available for free, but the premium SpellCheckPlus Pro plan costs $14.99 for a one-year license, which removes ads and any restrictions you’d find with the free version.

Cons

• Limited features
• Works only on a web browser
• The free version contains ads

How Spell-Checking Works in Word

Common Misconceptions

The Word>Preferences>Spelling and Grammar item labeled «Dictionaries…» only relates to custom dictionaries, and nothing else. Making changes there will not help solve a spellchecking problem.

The Encarta dictionary, which you access via Tools>Dictionary or the Toolbox when looking for definitions of words, has nothing to do with spellchecking at all.

Fundamental Fact: Correct Spell-Checking Depends on a Correct Language Setting

Language is a text property, like bold, or italic. It is not a program-level setting, so you cannot set a preference to tell Word to use UK English, or set an active dictionary to UK English. Instead, you have to make sure that the text is tagged as UK English (or whatever language you are interested in).

This approach is actually more powerful, as it provides the flexibility to use multiple languages in the same document and have all those words spellchecked properly. However, it can be quite confusing, as it may mean that you have to change text formatting in multiple places instead of just changing one setting.

So how do you tag the default text with the correct language? Well, first you need to understand where default text comes from. New documents in Word, created by cmd-n or File>New Blank Document, are based on the Normal template. The Normal template already has an empty paragraph in it. Regular new documents are more or less copies of the Normal template.

Usually, that empty paragraph is formatted in the Normal style. So to change the settings for that, you would change the language setting for the Normal style. When you go to Tools>Language, select a language, and click Default, that is exactly what Word does, making it a little easier for you. So you can do that. Note: If you don’t have a Tools>Language entry, see here.

Changing the Normal style, however, only takes effect for new documents generated from the Normal template. It will not change already created documents, so you will need to do that manually. In addition, if you are using any other templates, you may need to change the language formatting for those templates as well. Please jump to the Fixes section for details on how.

Why Does Spell-Checking Go Bad?

In single documents, one common reason is pasting in text from the web or another document, which has a different language formatting. That text will carry its formatting unless you use one of the Paste Options (new in Word 2004), and if you continue typing and hitting enter from that text, the same formatting will apply to your new text.

In versions earlier than Word 2004, new styles created from scratch were set to (no proofing) unless you specifically assigned them a language.

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3. Ginger

Ginger is a good grammar check tool you can use to proofread and scan your work for a vast range of writing errors. Such errors include grammatical, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and style errors.

Among the unique features of this tool include a rephraser to improve clarity and style with alternatives optimized to your context. The rephraser also identifies errors in your writing, including subject-verb agreement. 

Ginger also offers a translator that can translate more than 60 different languages to and from English and a text reader that reads your written text back to you. 

The tool can catch errors in your emails, texts, and social media posts, and provides personalized practice sessions based on your writing, to address your weak points and give you feedback on why they’re incorrect.

Ginger reveals the word count, character count, and sentence count for your content. However, the software is limited in terms of the number of characters it can check unlike other grammar check software on this list that can take a lot more, including entire documents.

The tool also helps you spot and correct synonyms for overused words in your text. 

Ginger, unlike Grammarly, doesn’t integrate with Google Docs, but it works with Microsoft Word documents. 

Ginger’s free grammar checker offers basic features that check grammatical, spelling, and other errors. 

Ginger Premium version offers more advanced features and more context for the errors it identifies, including rules like subject-verb agreement. You can also learn grammar lessons and tests through the virtual tutor for better grammar.

A personal dictionary is included with the software so that you can add words that you don’t want the tool to identify as a mistake. This is especially where you have unusual names or words that aren’t in the standard English dictionary.

Ginger Pricing

You can get Ginger Premium for $20.97 per month, or pay annually or bi-annually for $7.49 and $6.66 respectively. 

Pros

• Provides translations for more than 60 different languages
• The free version offers a dictionary, text reader, and editing window with translations
• Personal trainer available with Ginger premium with personalized practice sessions
• Integrates with MS Word

Cons

• No integration with Google Docs
• Not as simple to use when working through your text
• The free version offers limited feedback and suggestions
• Works with Windows only but Mac users can take advantage of Ginger’s capabilities while writing in Safari and Chrome

Autocorrection in Pages

If you’d rather stick with using autocorrection in Pages and not check your spelling yourself, this is simple.

Enable and adjust autocorrect settings

To enable autocorrection, do the following.

1) Open Pages and from the menu bar, click Pages > Preferences.

2) Select the Auto-Correction tab.

3) Mark the box at the top for Correct Spelling Automatically.

To adjust the settings, keep that Preferences window open to the Auto-Correction tab. You can then enable or disable settings for capitalizing words automatically, detecting lists and links, using smart quotes and dashes, and replacing text with symbols.

Just check or uncheck these options and then close the window when you finish.

Using autocorrection in Pages

With autocorrection enabled, misspelled words will be underlined in red and those with suggestions for you will be underlined in blue.

• To apply a change when there’s only one suggestion, just continue typing and the word will be corrected automatically.
• To apply a change when there’s more than one, just pick one from the options that display.
• To ignore suggestions, hit your Escape key.
• To undo an autocorrection, put your cursor on the word and either right-click or hold Control and click and pick your original spelling from the context menu.

Seeing your Ignored Words list

If you think you may have ignored a word by mistake or would like to add those you often misspell to the list, click Pages > Preferences and go to the Auto-Correction tab once more. Click the Ignored Words button.

Here you’ll see a list of words you’ve ignored in any Pages document. To remove one, select it and click the minus sign and to add one, click the plus sign. Click OK when you finish and close the window.

How to enable or disable Words automatic spelling correction on Mac?

Sometimes you will be interested in the turning off the automatic spelling correction option , either because you want to correct your handwriting manually, or because you may think it will save you more time.

If you want to do it permanently, or circumstantially then activate the option once you have finished making your text or document, no problem, we will tell you in a very simple way how to do it :

To turn off the spell checker:

• Once the new Word document is open, navigate to the toolbar up,

• Go to the tab Tools ou Tools , and press it, a menu will be displayed,
• Now go to the auto correction options , then another box will be displayed,
• In the Automatic correction tab, you will find the configuration options in Spanish, or in other languages ​​of your choice,
• Go to option: Correct the autograph and formatting automatically as you type, and uncheck simply the box .
• Finally, close Word for all changes to take effect.

To activate the spell checker

• To activate the option follow all the previous steps,
• Be in automatic correction in the option Correct the autograph and format automatically when writing, just check the box.

• Remember, close Word for all changes to take effect.

We know you will be better prepared on the way to turn auto spelling correction on or off in Word Mac . Now use this feature as many times as you want and stand out in the office, college, school or wherever you want.

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