How to enable the on-device Chromebook grammar check in Chrome OS 97
I’ve long used Grammarly in the browser for both spelling and grammar checks. It really is fantastic; even the free version. But I may be switching. As reported last month, Google was working on an on-device Chromebook grammar checker. I didn’t notice it after our most recent software update, but there in Chrome OS 97. Here’s how to enable and use it.
Since this is a brand new feature, it’s hidden behind an experimental flag. So you’ll have to head over to chrome://flags#enable-cros-on-device-grammar-check
and change the “Default” option to “Enabled”. Then click the “Restart” button to restart your Chromebook’s browser and turn the feature on.
![On-device-Grammar-Check - About Chromebooks](https://45-56-100-85.ip.linodeusercontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/On-device-Grammar-Check.jpg)
This should do the trick, but to make sure, you can verify the new feature in your Chrome OS Settings app. You’ll want to look for Languages & Inputs in the Settings menu, then choose Inputs.
What used to be a “Spell Check” option will change to a “Spelling and grammar check” feature, as shown:
![Spelling-and-grammar-check - About Chromebooks Spelling and grammar check in Chrome OS 97](https://45-56-100-85.ip.linodeusercontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Spelling-and-grammar-check.jpg)
Note that the feature is currently available for English only. I’d expect it to support additional languages in the future, although I don’t know when.
With the feature enabled in Chrome OS 97, you can now type any text in your browser and your Chromebook will underline any grammar issues with a blue line. This doesn’t quite happen in real-time, at least not in my testing.
I noticed that I had to type a complete sentence before any mistakes were caught. To be honest, Grammarly may work the same way. I often type so fast that I’m not looking for the grammar error notifications until later!
When you see the blue underline, just click on it to see an auto-suggested grammar fix. You can then click the suggestion to make the change.
Here’s an example of a comment I was leaving here on the site. (For testing purposes, I intentionally made grammar mistakes.)
![Chrome-OS-97-grammar-check-test-online - About Chromebooks Chrome OS 97 grammar check online test](https://45-56-100-85.ip.linodeusercontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Chrome-OS-97-grammar-check-test-online.jpg)
So far, so good, although this is pretty limited testing. I’ll have to use the feature for a few days in lieu of Grammarly to see how it compares.
However, there’s one important reason I’m already considering the switch. Google’s grammar checker is designed as an on-device function. That means it should work offline as well. Grammarly doesn’t work without an connection to the web.
While in the same comment form, I disabled the Wi-Fi on my Chromebook and added more text, along with some more intentional errors. Sure enough, the grammar check caught my errors and made the correct suggestions.
![Chrome-OS-97-grammar-check-offline - About Chromebooks Chrome OS 97 on-device grammar check for Chromebook](https://45-56-100-85.ip.linodeusercontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Chrome-OS-97-grammar-check-offline-960x540.jpg)
Again, more long-term testing is required to see if I’ll make the switch.
But I’m already impressed with the Chromebook on-device grammar check. Offline functionality is always a plus and it comes with the added benefit of data privacy.
Does the grammar checker work with dictated text?
I tried putting in a few passive voice examples to see if it picked them up, as when I did use grammarly that’s the sort of thing I wanted it for.
It didn’t, unfortunately.
Does Grammerly still exist on Chromebook, or do you have to remove it if you use this.
Checking grammar … There’s always a thought in the back of your head that Google will also know what you’re writing about. Besides, it’s a cool option
Haha! Someone was offline when they wrote this:
That means it should work offline as well. Grammarly doesn’t work without an connection to the web.