Use the spell check tool in Microsoft Word to correct punctuation. Find it by pressing the F7 key (on Windows), clicking the little square icon along the bottom edge of the screen, or clicking " Spelling & Grammar " under the Review label. You can also read the document manually by right-clicking the document content that has been automatically underlined with a red or green zigzag line.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Checking Manually
Step 1. Look for green or red underlines in the document
If there are zigzag lines under a word, it means that the word is grammatically or syntactically incorrect. You don't need to use the Spelling & Grammar tool as these marks appear automatically when you make a typo. Most versions of Word will automatically correct slightly misspelled words, but punctuation will need to be corrected yourself.
There should be a small book image at the bottom of the page, near the bottom left corner. If you see a tick, it means that there are no errors in the document. If there is a red X, click the book icon. The program will display various errors and suggested corrections
Step 2. Right-click to view the suggestions provided
When you right-click on a red or green underlined word, a menu appears offering actions and suggestions. You should see a list of suggested " correct alternatives " to the word or phrase. You also have the option to ignore (Ignore) or ignore all (Ignore All).
For example if you write "with", Word will give you the option to correct the word to "with"; or "listen"
Step 3. Choose the correct fix
Click the correct suggestion, and the program will replace the misspelled word with the word you chose. Again, if in doubt, look up the correct spelling of the word online.
Step 4. Try to learn the proper use of punctuation
Pay attention to words that are often misspelled. Try to learn from mistakes so they can be reduced. Practice correcting your spelling, and try to find out for yourself when you make a mistake. If you're having trouble, use a card or a rote app to practice using correct punctuation.
Method 2 of 3: Changing Grammar Settings
Step 1. Go to the Grammar Settings dialog box
In Word, click the "File" label, then "Options". From there, click "Proofing", then select "Settings" from the list under "When correcting spelling and grammar in Word". From here, you can tell Spell-Check to look for some common punctuation errors, such as commas in lists, double spaces or periods at the end of words in quotes.
Step 2. Check the comma before the last item in the list
These commas are often referred to as Oxford commas, and you may or may not use them in lists. In the Grammar Settings menu, under "Comma required before last list item," select one of the following settings:
- Don't Check (uncheck): Select " Don't Check " if you want the grammar check tool to mark all sentences based on commas.
- never (never): The grammar checker will mark sentences that have a comma before the last item in the list. For example, “When I was adventuring in the forest, I saw a lion, a tiger, and a deer.”
- Always (always): Word will notify you of sentences that don't have a last comma. For example, “While traveling in the forest, I saw a lion, a tiger and a deer.”
Step 3. Find punctuation within the quote
Under " Punctuation required with quotes," select one of the following options:
- Don't Check: Word will not tag phrases based on the interaction of quotes and punctuation.
- Inside (inside): Word will mark the phrase inside the quote when the corresponding comma is outside the quotation mark. For example, this sentence would be marked: Jaka calls the artist a “diva”, but secretly likes her elegance.
- outside (outside): Word will mark the phrase inside the quote where the corresponding comma is also inside the quotation mark. The following sentences will be tagged: Jaka calls the artist a “diva,” but secretly loves her elegance.
Step 4. Check the space between words
Word can mark sentences that have too many spaces between words. Choose one of the following options:
- Don't Check: Select " don't check " if you don't want the grammar checker to mark spaces in phrases.
- 1 (space): Word will mark all sentences that have more than one space between the word and the next sentence.
- 2 (space): The grammar checker will mark sentences that have single or more than two spaces after the period.
Method 3 of 3: Using the Spell-Check Tool
Step 1. Open the Word document you want to check
Make sure you check the latest version of the document. If you want to check punctuation for an entire document, click the " Spelling & Grammar " label to open an easy to use spell checking tool. If you want to check punctuation for a specific section of text, simply highlight the text before clicking the spell-check tool.
Step 2. Go to " Spelling & Grammar"
First, click the Review label at the top of the Word window (between Mailings and View). You will be presented with a list of various editing options. Click " Spelling & Grammar "; it's in the upper-left corner of the screen, just below "File". Click it and the tool will perform a spell check on the entire document. If an error is found, a pop-up box with correction options will appear.
- If you're using a Windows computer, you can simply press the F7 hotkey while Word starts the spell check.
- All words that are not spelled correctly will appear in red. Nouns that the program does not recognize will be blue, and grammatical errors will be green.
Step 3. Review the suggested corrections for each word
For each grammatical error, a pop-up box will provide some suggestions for improvement. You will also have the option to " Ignore " (ignore), " Ignore All " (ignore all), or " Add to Dictionary " (add to dictionary). Understand that each of these options means:
- Ignore will tell the program that there are no errors in this particular word, but it doesn't stop the spell-check algorithm from checking the next word that appears.
- Ignore All will notify the program that all of these specific spellings are correct, as long as they appear in the associated document. All red and green zigzag underlines will disappear making the document easier to read and review.
- Add to Dictionary will permanently insert this spelling into Word's "known" word library. You will be able to write this word (with the exact same spelling) in the next document without being re-marked.
Step 4. Choose the correct fix for each punctuation error
You will be given several options for each word to be corrected so choose the right one. Click a suggested word, then click Change. If you misspelled in various places, click Change All to correct them all at once.
If you don't know the correct suggestion, look up the related word online and try to understand its common spelling. Advanced search engines will even pull up results from correctly spelled versions of words
Step 5. Click "OK" to finish checking, if prompted
When there are no more punctuation errors to correct, you will be asked to confirm that the spelling and grammar check is complete. After clicking this button, you are free to save the document or continue working. You can re-run spell-check if other punctuation issues arise!
