4 Russian Grammar Check Programs to Polish up Your Writing
If you were swimming in treacherous waters, wouldn’t you feel better if there was a boat right behind you with warm towels and Oreos to boot?
If you’re treading the treacherous waters of Russian grammar, that boat is Russian grammar check programs. The Oreos, unfortunately, aren’t part of the deal (sorry about that).
These powerful programs can ensure you have your cases on point, you’ve used the right conjugation of Russian verbs and that you’ve dotted your ё’s and crossed your ф’s.
But beyond that, grammar checkers can also be a helpful learning tool. Here’s all you need to know about Russian grammar check programs!
Contents
- Why Use a Russian Grammar Check Program
- How to Get the Most Out of a Russian Grammar Check Program
- 4 Russian Grammar Check Programs to Kick Your Grammar into Gear
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Why Use a Russian Grammar Check Program
One of the main reasons to use a Russian grammar checker is to get your work on point. Whenever you want your Russian to look polished, a Russian grammar check can help you get there and avoid potentially embarrassing mistakes.
Plus, using a Russian grammar check program helps you learn from your mistakes. Russian grammar check programs are helpful Russian learning tools. They’ll let you know what you’re doing wrong so you have the opportunity to learn and improve from the experience.
Finally, a grammar checker can also check your spelling. Let’s be real: There are some really long Russian words. Even if you thoroughly know the words you’re using, the longer the words are, the more opportunity there is for typos to make an appearance.
How to Get the Most Out of a Russian Grammar Check Program
Recognize limitations of the programs and review suggestions carefully. There’s no denying that grammar check programs are great, but they aren’t 100% perfect. It’s important to remember that even grammar checkers can make mistakes, so whenever you receive a suggestion, review it carefully before making the change.
When the program finds an error in your writing, consider what you did wrong. With grammar checkers, it can be tempting to just take them at their word, make the change and move along. However, this won’t help you learn from mistakes you’ve made. Whenever a grammar check program finds an error, this is a good opportunity to consider what you did wrong so that you can avoid that mistake in the future.
Look for consistent errors identified in your work. Everyone makes a mistake every now and then, but if the same types of mistakes keep appearing in your work, there’s a strong chance that you have a pattern of errors that you should address. If you find you’re consistently making the same mistakes, you may want to target that particular skill by studying the rule more and/or using Russian grammar exercises.
Create grammar flashcards. Flashcards aren’t just for Russian vocabulary! They can help you memorize cases, noun genders, tenses, pronouns and other parts of Russian grammar.
FluentU is a great tool for making interactive flashcards.
Plus, the videos are all naturally entertaining since they come from the shows, movies and channels that native Russian-speakers enjoy on the regular. You can watch documentary footage, television show clips, funny commericals and more all while learning the Russian language!
Take a quick look at what FluentU has on offer for yourself:
Didn't catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? FluentU makes native Russian videos approachable through interactive captions. Tap or click on any word to see a definition, in-context usage examples, audio pronunciation, helpful images and more.
Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab. Easily review words and phrases with audio under Vocab.
Don’t stop there, though! Use FluentU’s quizzes to actively practice all the vocabulary in any video. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you're on.
And FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that information to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.
Start using FluentU on the website, or better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes store.
You can make your own flashcards with FluentU, so pick the aspects of Russian grammar that are throwing you for a loop, create the cards and get memorizing!
4 Russian Grammar Check Programs to Kick Your Grammar into Gear
RussianCorrector.com
RussianCorrector.com will check your work for an array of issues, including basic grammar mistakes, basic stylistic mistakes and spelling issues.
Once the program has done its work, it highlights the problems. The color of the highlight indicates the nature of the error. Spacing errors appear in purple, spelling errors appear in pink, typographical errors appear in coral and other errors (including grammar) appear in yellow.
If you hover over highlighted areas, a bubble will appear to clarify the type of error and the rules governing the error. It will also suggest a specific correction. However, since all these descriptions and suggestions appear in Russian, you will need either a decent command of the Russian language and/or a willingness to run descriptions through a translator in order to use this program.
If you’re in a hurry and just want your work corrected without explanation, you can also check the box below the text area and the RussianCorrector.com will correct your work for you and give you a complete breakdown of what it corrected and why.
LanguageTool
The LanguageTool interface is much like that of RussianCorrector.com.
Once you’ve inputted your text, LanguageTool will highlight key issues, including spelling and grammar, and explain the problem and offer suggested revisions. It’s also equipped to detect a number of false friends. Descriptions of the errors are in Russian. Because the text can’t be copied and pasted into a translator, this grammar checker is best for intermediate and advanced students.
One unique feature of LanguageTool, though, is that you don’t have to use it exclusively through its website.
Wish you could have LanguageTool with you whenever you’re posting on social media, emailing friends or just browsing the web? With LanguageTool’s Chrome extension, you can have it with you on all your internet adventures. With a premium subscription, you can also get a Word add-on.
SpellBoy
SpellBoy’s format is familiar: You enter your text and get the text back with key areas of concern highlighted. That may be in part because it’s actually based on LanguageTool.
SpellBoy seeks to find stylistic errors, spelling errors and, of course, grammar errors. It doesn’t catch everything. For instance, it may miss some case errors, but other programs sometimes do the same, so always be on your game.
Explanations of errors are given in Russian. However, if it’s too much Russian for you to handle, you can copy and paste them into an online Russian translator.
SpellBoy is free to use, and the company even promises not to store any of your texts in order to ensure your privacy.
While it’s similar to other grammar check programs, it has a slightly different interface, which may be preferable to some learners. The text box looks like notebook paper, making it easier to keep track of individual lines of text. Particularly for students who are used to referring to their handy dandy notebook, this format could be useful.
All in all, SpellBoy is another helpful grammar check program to keep in your arsenal.
Microsoft Word
It’s an oldie, but it’s also a goodie.
If you’re a word processing warrior, chances are you’re more than a little familiar with Word’s spelling and grammar check. However, that same spelling and grammar check you use in English can also be used in Russian.
To change your language settings in Microsoft Office, you can follow this helpful how-to guide. To sum it up, all you have to do is go to Microsoft Office Tools. From there, go to language preferences, where you can add Russian as an additional editing language.
Bonus Option: Hire a Tutor!
Sure, it may not be as convenient as a grammar check program, but tutors can give more detailed grammar corrections. They can even provide you with the instruction you need to avoid making similar mistakes in the future, so you might consider looking at one of these resources to find a Russian tutor.
Preply
Preply has over 300 Russian tutors you can meet with online. In their profiles, tutors list their skills and language proficiency, making it easy to find the tutor who’s right for you.
Tutor profiles also include videos to give you an idea of the tutor’s communication style. Prices range from $5-$40 per hour.
Verbling
Verbling also has a huge array of Russian tutors. Best of all, you can search tutors by skill, and one of the skills is “Grammar Development”—perfect for anyone looking for a tutor to check their grammar!
Profiles feature descriptions, videos, language proficiency level, photos and number of lessons taught.
Live Lingua
Live Lingua features Skype-based Russian lessons with well-educated tutors. While Live Lingua’s tutoring pool is smaller than other services, it provides an abundance of information about each tutor, including educational background, teaching experience, travels and specializations.
With these programs to check your Russian grammar, you’ll never feel like you’re in treacherous waters again.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
