Why does the grammar checker always highlight the following egs

She sat down, asking herself if she really wanted to be there

she made herself comfortable on the sofa

?? I'm intrigued.

Because it’s a nit-picking, mean-spirited, mealy-mouthed arse-ache of a programme that thinks everyone is writing business letters. Best thing to do with, in my opinion, is to keep it permanently switched off.

Dee

Dee, and hear hear!.

Loth to think that a grammar-checker could be well-intentioned, let alone trained in UK English, but could it be fighting a losing battle against that ghastly, pompous and incorrect way people use 'myself' to mean 'me' and 'I'? In which case I'll forgive it, just about.

Emma

LOL you two! - i was only asking!!

Dee, that cracked me up big time!

All true of course.

Nik

Of course, if I’d had mine switched on, it would have pointed out that I missed an ‘it’ out of that last sentence …

I hate Word's grammar checker too. It's far too nit-picky, and now and again is just plain wrong. In any case, I can't bring myself to trust my writing to anything designed by Microsoft.

However, I do encourage all my students to use it. They're not doing creative writing and, on the whole, their grammar is dire.

Grammar checkers? Aaargh! Run for the hills! They are evil. Evil, I tells ya! (Green wiggly line there...)

Someone well-meaning told me about this one, though:
http://www.whitesmoke.com
Apparently it analyses text and it's utterly brilliant, or so it said in the Observer last Sunday.

I haven't checked it out yet, such is my extreme sceptism.

<Added>

Spellcheckers can be quite useful, though. Scepticism. Sigh. Kind of ruins my point, doesn't it? ;)

My spell check dictionary makes for a very interesting read, I tell you, but yes, I'm down with the swearing-at-green-and-red-lines brigade.

JB

I purchased White Smoke. It's a waste of money. I don't use it. it is worse than a grammar checker. It tries to tell you how to write your sentences, and what words to use. I don't mind a grammar checker making mistakes, but when I program tells me 'how' to write my work, I remove it from my computer.

Kori

That's interesting to hear, Kori. Thanks a lot for posting that.

I honestly don't know how you can right with a grammar checker - it's so inaccurate and irritating. I use a program called Copywrite that uses the Mac's built-in spell checker and has no grammar checker on it.

If you don't have a Mac and / or don't wish to spend money on CopyWrite try the free office suite, OpenOffice. That has a spell checker but doesn't do grammar.

Personally, I quite enjoy the old spelling / grammar checker's suggestions. It gives me a spurious feeling of power when I override them.

'That may be what you think,' I say to it, 'and I assure you I've given your opinion serious consideration, but I'm afraid on this occasion I take a different view. Please don't let this stop you from making further suggestions in the future. My door is always open.'

It has to accept my views as gospel too, which doesn't seem to happen quite as much as it should in other areas of my miserable existence...

Me also myself,

Yours sensorily,
Poppy Veins

It gives me a spurious feeling of power when I override them.

RJH, I agree entirely. Especially when, as you said, the power seems lacking in other areas of my writing. Love the synonyms function though, that can be very helpful when my brain is turning to mush.
Take care
Tracy