1. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    The death of same and said?

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Wreybies, Apr 16, 2014.

    My grammar checker in MS Word keeps getting uppity with my use of the words same and said as referents to an aforementioned concept in legal documents. Is this a dead usage and no one notified me, or is this just grammar check being only as good as the people who create it?

    .... should you be recommended for treatment, you must submit to same.

    .... having already shown you said document, I cannot now accept your claim of ignorance.
     
  2. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    It's Word, dude. The most useless spellchecker and grammar checker ever devised. The usages of those words aren't dead; the brains of the Microsoft people who create the dictionaries are.
     
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  3. Jack Asher

    Jack Asher Banned Contributor

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    I'm not sure why you're using a grammar checker in the first place.
     
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  4. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Because I can't be arsed to solve the riddle that leads to the puzzle that opens the portal in the upper region of MS Word that will give me the gem through which, on that one perfect day of the year just as the sun comes up over Mt. Sinai, light will shine through and illuminate for me the location of where to turn the damned option off. ;)
     
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  5. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    You could always call Microsoft technical support ...

    (Yes, that's a joke, for those of you who have never tried calling Microsoft technical support.) :p
     
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  6. Jack Asher

    Jack Asher Banned Contributor

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    It might be a RAM problem, did you try rebooting it?
     
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  7. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    I use 'said' all the time in the usage of your example. I believe what is going on is the grammar algorithm isn't programed to accept 'said' as a ... hmmm is it a possessive pronoun or an article there? Anyway, it's the same with clauses that come between the noun and the verb, Word's algorithm wants the noun closest to the verb to agree when it is the noun before the clause that should.

    I don't use 'same' as you have but that's just coincidental and it is certainly correct to use.
     
  8. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Nah, I've just been translating prior judgements and sentences (in the legal sense of the word) all day and because they have formatting and blocking and boxes and the like, I have to use MS Turd. :(
     
  9. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    I guess the biggest problem is the English language. Software is designed around hard and fast rules, but a language as arbitrary with it's rules as English there's gonna be holes with software that has little to no ability to take into account context.
     
  10. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Are you guys saying you can't turn a grammar checker off in MS Word????

    !!!!

    Lord.

    I guess I'm glad I use Pages instead. Those things are all accessed via Preferences and/or the Edit menu. I turned them all off, because they are so distracting. However, Pages also gives you the option to see the 'mistakes' but to go ahead and use them, if you want.
     
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  11. TheDapperJack

    TheDapperJack New Member

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    When my previous laptop met with an unfortunate accident involving a bowl of homemade tapioca and my cat, I never even bothered reinstalling Word on the new one. Honestly I just use Google docs now. Same basic word processing tools with insta-saving to your accounts cloud so you never lose your work. Oh and it's free, so bonus there.
     
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  12. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    i use 'em both... and i never let ms word dictate to me... it's not nearly as reliable as 'my little grey cells'...
     
  13. Jack Asher

    Jack Asher Banned Contributor

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    Oh no, you can definitely turn it off. Figuring out how, through its war crime of an interface, is tricky.
     
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  14. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    I always found Word's interface to be a war crime, but I confess to only using it on occasion, when working with somebody else's computer.

    Unfortunately the Apple option is more Word-like now than it used to be. I loved ClarisWorks, and AppleWorks wasn't too bad. However, Pages is more difficult to navigate intuitively than the older two used to be.

    The older programmes made easy things easy. The more esoteric functions were easily accessed via the menu options, but they weren't in your face. I mean, with Claris AND AppleWorks, when you opened the programme, you were given a blank sheet to start writing on. You could format it, name it, and save it as 'stationery,' which means you could use that formatting again. But you started with a blank slate.

    But with Pages, you have to choose between 'templates.' And if you don't want one of theirs, you CAN design your own. But it's quite a faff getting through all the stuff that gets you there.

    And I miss that little triangle you could just move to set margins, etc. Now it's done through a function called "Inspector" which is right up there with Microsoft's insistence that you use 'Start' to shut down your computer. Took me a while to figure THAT one out!

    I don't think the modern programmes are as user-friendly as the older ones were. And it's got nothing to do with complexity, and all to do with interface. It's not Steve Jobs I miss, it's Steve Wozniack, the guy who designed Apple's Classic interface. It's not been the same since HE left.
     
  15. xanadu

    xanadu Contributor Contributor

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    As much as I love this^^, it's actually a pretty quick setting change if you know where to look. In Word 2010 or 2013, go to the File tab and click on Options at the bottom. In the Proofing section, under "When correcting spelling in Microsoft Office programs," uncheck the top four boxes to turn off the settings. You can always invoke the checker on demand through the ribbon, but it will no longer flag things as you type.

    In Word 2007, the same settings can be found in Word Options on the Microsoft Office Button.

    I'm not sure about older versions of Word/Office, but those aren't being supported anymore anyway.

    Hope that helps!
     
  16. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    There's no reason to disable Word's grammar check. Just learn it's common errors. It's helpful for finding inadvertent errors and awkward sentences.
     
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  17. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    I agree with this. I leave grammar checkers on (though I don't usually use Word), but I don't pay them any attention. They do sometimes catch something I miss.
     
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  18. xanadu

    xanadu Contributor Contributor

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    Agreed, it's easy enough to ignore the squiggly lines. But then again I've been using Word to write things with since either Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, so I don't even see them anymore.

    But when in doubt, go to Options. That's where all the secret fun toys are.
     
  19. Lewdog

    Lewdog Come ova here and give me kisses! Supporter Contributor

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    I think it is Word not being programmed to handled legalese. The ways you are using 'same' and 'said' isn't in a conventional sense so it is giving you that little blue line telling you that you need to correct it.
     

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