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Author Topic: WTF, Google Docs?  (Read 30837 times)

RokofAges75

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WTF, Google Docs?
« on: May 22, 2021, 03:30:40 PM »
Here's a thread to post your Google Docs spelling and grammar check fails.

For example, in the process of posting my chapter today, I realized I had written "defeatening" instead of "deafening."  Thanks, Wordpress, for giving me the red squiggle when I pasted that in so I could fix it.  Google Docs did not give me a squiggle.  Apparently it thinks "defeatening" is a real word, but it doesn't believe Howie is a real name.

While I was on Google Docs wondering why it didn't catch that one, I ran the spelling and grammar check and got this terrible suggestion:  Change "haven't" to "havingn't."  WTF?  "Havingn't" is also not a word, Google.

It also suggested I change the word "respiratory" to "breathing."  No, Google!  My readers are smart enough to understand that "respiratory" refers to breathing.  They don't need me to dumb down my vocabulary for them.

How has Google Docs failed you recently?
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~Julie

"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling

nicksgal

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2021, 03:40:59 PM »
LMAO!

You know my constant struggle with magic "Brain."

It wants me to change "we’d be exposed moving targets" to "we’d be exposed to moving targets," which doesn't make much sense in context. That's about all I have today other than it not catching me making dumb spelling mistakes (hitting the wrong key), but I caught them on my quick reread this morning before writing, thank goodness.
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

RokofAges75

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2021, 03:57:19 PM »
Oh Google!

I wonder if you added a comma between the two adjectives if it would understand better that they are the targets, which would be both exposed and moving.  Sometimes I follow the rule of adding a comma between two adjectives, and sometimes I think it looks too clunky that way (especially if I already have other commas in the same sentence) and choose to leave it out.

LOL It's sad that I just reread the chapter I posted earlier this morning and did not notice "defeatening."  So fail on my part as well.  Glad you caught your spelling mistakes!
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~Julie

"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling

nicksgal

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2021, 04:04:08 PM »
You're right, it does like the comma, but it's after a but, much like this sentence, and the commas are just so close together, lol. Oh well, this sentence makes sense with so many commas and so does that one.

Sometimes I don't catch things like that either and will only catch them when I go to post it on AC because it thinks everything is a spelling error, from Howie's name to actual spelling errors, lol! I like "defeatening," it sounds epic, like: The Defeatening. It obviously wouldn't make sense in context, but authors have made up many words throughout history. That's why linguistics is so fascinating.
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

RokofAges75

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2021, 04:36:36 PM »
I love commas, but yeah, I don't always like the look of multiple commas in the same sentence, especially if they're close to each other, even if I know they're technically correct.  (I say as I use four commas in the same sentence LOL.)

Defeatening is not a terrible made-up word, but yeah, not what I was going for.  I do remember inventing the word "icen" many years ago, as in "made of ice," the same way "leaden" means "made of lead."  I thought for sure it should be word!
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~Julie

"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling

nicksgal

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #5 on: May 22, 2021, 04:46:03 PM »
I used five. We're obviously comma champions, but too many of them look silly together.

Ooh, icen. I love that. I almost tried to make a word up in the chapter I posted last week, because I still hated how my sentence structure changed for that one sentence compared to the others, then I swapped words around and it was much better. I think I did that mainly because "benevolenters" just didn't sound very good, lol.
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

RokofAges75

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2021, 11:23:57 PM »
Quote from: nicksgal on May 22, 2021, 04:46:03 PM
I used five. We're obviously comma champions, but too many of them look silly together.

Ooh, icen. I love that. I almost tried to make a word up in the chapter I posted last week, because I still hated how my sentence structure changed for that one sentence compared to the others, then I swapped words around and it was much better. I think I did that mainly because "benevolenters" just didn't sound very good, lol.

"Benevolenters" is a mouthful! LOL  It took me a couple of tries just to be able to say that one out loud.
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~Julie

"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling

nicksgal

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2021, 11:26:20 PM »
I said it didn't sound very good! lol! Though I appreciate you saying my made up word out loud to test it.
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

RokofAges75

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #8 on: May 23, 2021, 06:45:29 PM »
I wrote that Nick "felt around" for his phone after waking up in a dark hotel room, and Google suggested I changed "felt" to "looked."  No, Google... if you were actually reading my writing closely, you would have read that it's dark.  He can't see well enough to look for it; he hasn't turned on the light yet!
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~Julie

"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling

nicksgal

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #9 on: May 23, 2021, 07:09:55 PM »
LMAO! You'd think with the amount of surveillance Google does, it would be perfectly equipped to analyze long portions of writing together.

My only weird one is similar. I have this line: “You would believe that he means demons and not demon.” Which is all well and good, except Google wants me to change "demon" to "demons" and... how does that make any sense? "He means demons and not demons"? Oh Google...
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

RokofAges75

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #10 on: May 23, 2021, 07:32:31 PM »
Get it together, Google!  Your reading comprehension skills suck!
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~Julie

"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling

nicksgal

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #11 on: May 23, 2021, 09:07:17 PM »
LOL! It's trying too hard at this point. Every now and again, I'm like, fine, I'll add a comma because you asked, but otherwise... it's oddly picky and nonsensical.
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

RokofAges75

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #12 on: May 23, 2021, 09:46:47 PM »
The only reason I even have grammar check on is because it is pretty good at catching missing words, and I do tend to leave words out when I'm typing too fast and don't catch them.
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~Julie

"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling

nicksgal

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #13 on: May 23, 2021, 10:31:28 PM »
Same! Or for when I accidentally make typos that don't make sense by switching around letters, it usually catches them. For instance, while writing this, I definitely typed "swithcing" instead for some reason, lol.

It's probably most useful to me for Howie's "royal we" speech though, because I do inevitably forget to match my verbs to "we/our/etcetera" sometimes.
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

RokofAges75

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Re: WTF, Google Docs?
« Reply #14 on: May 23, 2021, 10:40:16 PM »
Yes!  I do the letter switching thing too.  Again, typing too fast.  (At my whopping 3 words a minute according to Nano LOL).

It does occasionally catch an grammatical error like the subject/verb agreement issue you mention and suggestions a correction that's actually correct, so it's good for that too.  At least it forces me to stop and think about it, even if it's not right.  (I did Google yesterday to make sure "defeatening" and "havingn't" weren't real words I had just never heard of LOL.)
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~Julie

"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling
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