These excerpts from the English Plus+ News and Installation Help page have been included to help our users understand better what grammar checking programs can and cannot do and to document known installation problems.
From English Plus+ News, February 1999
Why Can't My Grammar Checker Automatically Correct My Mistakes?
What Can We Expect, and Not Expect, from Grammar Programs?
Are You Looking for the Perfect English Language Correction Software?
Let's be honest, this side of paradise, it does not exist. Grammar Checkers and Spelling Checkers are very helpful, but they can't read your mind. They cannot know what you intended to say. But Grammar Slammer combined with a good Grammar Checker is unbeatable. Except, of course, for Language Vanquish combined with a good Grammar Checker and Spelling Checker!
Occasionally we receive a request for a program that will "read" a computer document and make all the grammar corrections.
The requests usually sound something like this:
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Does your software rewrite and organize awkward or ungrammatical sentences and paragraphs? Can it punctuate and present my document to make it clearer without changing the meaning?
On the surface that may sound like a reasonable question. Nowadays some of the spell checkers have instant correction modes--for example, if I type teh, it will automatically change it to the for me.
That may work with some common words we spell, but do not expect a grammar program to make editorial decisions.
Why not?
With my tongue in my cheek, I might answer, First they must develop software that reads your mind!
The concept is fairly simple, but the execution is anything but simple. We will not use the word impossible, but it is not going to be easy.
Grammar is Very Subtle
Grammatical relationships can be very subtle. In speech we often use things besides words to affect the grammar. The sentence "Your name is Mary," can be made into a question just by changing the tone at the end of the sentence: "Your name is Mary?" Other things like sarcasm and verbal irony are very difficult to program.
There are regional variations as well. In most areas, for example, people say, "I am waiting for you." However, in the southern United States, and among many African-Americans (whose roots are in the southern U.S.) people say, "I am waiting on you." Popular novelist John Grisham is from Mississippi, and that is the way he writes. In other regions, to wait on means "to attend to, to serve," hence the words waiter and waitress.
There are also very subtle shades of meaning with compound words.
- A parakeet is a blue bird.
- A parakeet is not a bluebird.
When we read this or when we hear this, most native English speakers over the age of seven understand the differences. Would a grammar checker? It could, but it would not be easy. You would have to have about a dozen questions to ask for each such compound word, and there are hundreds, if not thousands of such compound words in English.
That is not all.
The Wrong Way to Write a Valentine
Here is a simple sentence punctuated two different ways. Both are correct, it depends on what you mean.-
I think you are beautiful.
- I think, you are beautiful.
I asked the girls in my grammar class, which would you want written on your Valentine card?
In the first, I is the subject and think is the verb. It is a straightforward declaration of the speaker's belief. Most women would consider that a compliment.
In the second, I think is a qualifying parenthetical expression showing some hesitation or doubt about the main clause, You are beautiful. One female student said to me, "I'd rather he lie than say that."
How is an automatic grammar checker going to be able to tell the difference?
Grammar Shows Intent
That is why grammar checkers most often ask questions. They do not know--no one does--what you intend to say. They will ask, which do you prefer? Without getting too commercial, if you were not sure of the answer, you could quickly check in Grammar Slammer.
Here is another example. Again, both sentences could be punctuated correctly, but they mean two different things.
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My aunt who lives in New York is coming to visit.
- My aunt, who lives in New York, is coming to visit.
The first one specifies which aunt. The second one tells us something about the aunt, but the information about her being from New York is not critical to the meaning. That one illustrates a nonrestrictive modifier.
The first one can be helpful if you have several aunts and the person you are writing knows her as the one from New York. The second one suggests either that you only have one aunt, or that you have already established who it is you are writing about.
Family Trees and Automatic Checkers
For example, in my case, I only have one aunt. My father was an only child and my mother just had one sister. I would use the second one. My wife's mother, on the other hand, had seven siblings and her father had two. It took me years to get all the aunts and uncles straight; I still have not met a few of them. If she were trying to communicate which of the ten or so aunts she meant, she would use the first sentence. Do we ask grammar checkers to first search our family trees?
In fact, even that automatic spell checking feature is hardly foolproof. Yes, I appreciate the spell checker when it changes teh to the. But I am an English teacher, so sometimes I type out passages in older English which use the word thee. It gets annoying to have the automatic checker change thee to the! In that case, it is not being helpful!
There are many other difficulties as well, but this gives you an idea of some of the challenges of creating a computerized proofreader. Sure, spell checkers and grammar checkers make the job easier, but good publishers and printing companies still hire human proofreaders to complete the job.
Take a look at the latest Grammar Slammer demo at http://englishplus.com/pub.
This is not artificial intelligence, but a handy pop-up Help file reference for English Grammar. Until there's a mind-reading proofreader, Grammar Slammer plus your grammar checker is the best thing going. Registered users can get Language Vanquish which includes a spelling reference as well.
"Most of us properly use grammar in more than 95% of our writing and speaking. The other five percent creates immense headaches... Grammar Slammer is better than any pain reliever for these headaches."
Brian Howard, The Writer's Web
Installation Tips
Any Downloaded Program
- Attempt to Unzip gets "Version Not Supported" Message
English Plus+ uses what is considered the Internet standard ZIP program. However, a few unzipping utilities may be incompatible with it. Check out our page on Zip files for links to a number of utilities (some free) that have been tested to work on our files.
Problem with Installing Macros to Word Processors
There are two separate installation processes. First, install Grammar Slammer or Language Vanquish to whatever folder would be appropriate for you. During installation install the Word Processor Macro files into the Macro directory of your Word Processor program. Be sure to check this before installing the macro files. The installation program is set up for the commonest folders (directories) but there are many variations.
The next step has to be done "manually" by the user. There is no autoinstall for installing macros into Word Processors. Follow the directions in the your Specific Word Processor Info file. If you installed the macro files, there should be an icon to click on this. Each of the four supported word processors has a different method for installing macros. After that, you can customize the word processor to include the tool bar button, keystroke, menu option, or any combination to get Grammar Slammer or Language Vanquish to pop up. If you do not work with macros much, you may need to check the help file or manual. You may have to change some folder notations depending on your system setup.
Unfortunately, word processor macros have to be added to your system "manually," but the steps are pretty straightforward. The macros are considered custom documents, and only the user can customize them. The registered copies of both programs and the Word-Processor-Specific demo files for Grammar Slammer have all the files you need.
For Mircrosoft Word Users.
The MS Word Macro language has not changed since version 2.0. The macro does work on Word 97 and 2000. You may need to check to make sure that your MS Word is set up for Macros. In order to add written macros to your Word for Windows program, you must make sure that the Macro Language (WordBasic) has been installed. Word for Windows 6 and higher include a number of choices for installation. Make sure the Macro materials are installed. If not, reinstall MS Word from your original disks or CD-ROM and include the Macro/Word Basic option. (This can be done without destroying any files.) Consult your Word manual if you need more information.
Grammar Slammer 2.0 and 3.0
- 1) SETUP does Nothing or only installs some files.
This usually happens on machines which are configured for a language other than English. If this happens, you may manually copy and rename the files to the selected directory. We recommend making a directory (folder) named C:\GRAMSLAM and then copying the necessary files into it. The files needed are GRAMSLAM.EXE, GRAMSLAM.TXT,
GRAMSLAM.HLP, EPOB.ICO, README.TXT, and GRAMSLAM.CNT. No other files
are needed in any other directory, so a manual uninstall is easy, just
remove the directory. Please note that the installation program may create
a file with the suffix .LOG. Keep this file so that the uninstall program
will work should you need to uninstall. When the program runs, a file
named GRAMSLAM.GID is also created.
- 2) You cannot get the GRAMSLAM.HLP file to work for you
If you cannot get the GRAMSLAM.HLP file to work for you, try going into
the Windows Explorer, and double-click on the GRAMSLAM.HLP file. If this
does not successfully call up the Grammar Slammer help file, then either
your WINHELP.EXE program is not working, not present, or in the wrong
directory (it should be in your \WINDOWS directory), or your machine for
some reason is not compatible.
- 3) Your Caption still says "Unregistered Copy" after installing registered copy
This could be caused by one of two things. 1) Delete or uninstall the shareware files before installing the registered version. The Windows Help file reader program (WINHELP.EXE or WINHELP32.EXE) refers to its own INI files sometimes and it may be referring to one of those. Deleting the shareware files first should take care of that. 2) A defective or missing GRAMSLAM.CNT file (Windows 95/98/NT). Contact English Plus for a replacement file.
- 4) You get "Not Supported by Winhelp32" or similar message
You have a Windows 3 version of the program, and your operating system does not have the Microsoft "legacy" software to read it. Contact English Plus for the Windows 95/98/NT version.
- 5) The Tool Bar Icons do not appear, but look like blanks or black sqares
This is a known bug with the programming language used for Grammar Slammer and Language Vanquish. The language manufacturer has advised us that some video cards may not be able to display the color buttons in some video modes, and that they are unable to support all video cards on the market. There are two solutions which work for most users: (a) Try changing the screen resolution--for example, one ATI card we found works at 24 bit full color but not at 16 or 32 bit full color. (b) Try different version of the software. Download a shareware copy or, if you are a registered user, ask us for a fix. Version 1 will work on all systems (though it is missing a few features of later versions); Version 3 has been written to avoid this in most cases. Version 3 also includes a tray icon option--which many Windows 95/98/NT/2000 users prefer to the tool bar anyhow.
May all your anguish be vanquished,
Your friends at English Plus+
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