✍️ Writing · Grammar · AI Productivity
AI Tool to Check Grammar Without Grammarly
(4 Routes + 2 Prompts)
You want an AI tool to check your grammar, but you do not want to use Grammarly, or you cannot pay for it. Good news: you do not need one special product. You need a route. This page shows four routes, tells you which one fits an email, an essay, website text or a CV, and gives two prompts that fix mistakes and explain them, so your English gets better each time.
Four routes to a grammar check, and why one tool is not the point
Most people search for a product name. A better question is: which job do I have today? A quick email needs a fast check. A CV needs a slow one. Here are the four routes.
- A free chatbot with a strict prompt. A free chatbot such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini can fix grammar and show every change, if you tell it to do only that.
- The checker you already have. Your word processor, email app or browser may underline spelling and grammar already. Open its settings and see what yours does. Do not assume.
- Listening. Text-to-speech playback reads your text aloud. Your ear catches a missing word that your eye skips.
- A human check. A friend, teacher or colleague checks what machines cannot: names, numbers and tone.
Which grammar check for which task
| Task | Start with | Then add |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday email | The checker in your email app | Read it aloud once before sending |
| Essay or assignment | Chatbot with the change-list prompt | Check your school's rules on AI help first |
| Website text | Chatbot with the keep-my-voice prompt | Human check for names, prices, phone numbers |
| CV or cover letter | Word processor checker, then chatbot | A human reader, plus a slow read of every date |
The rule behind the table: the higher the cost of a mistake, the more routes you stack. An email to a friend needs one. A CV that decides an interview needs three.
Prompt 1: corrected text plus a change list that teaches you
Most grammar tools just change your text. That fixes today's page but teaches nothing. This prompt asks for the fix and the rule, in plain words.
Fix only grammar, spelling and punctuation in the text below. Do not change my meaning, my words or my style unless a word is wrong.
Give me two parts.
Part 1: the corrected text.
Part 2: a numbered list of every change. For each one write: the old words, the new words, and the grammar rule in one simple sentence.
If you are not sure something is an error, list it under "Not sure" and do not change it.
Do not invent or change names, numbers or dates.
My English level: [beginner / intermediate / advanced].
Text:
[paste text here]
Prompt 2: keep my voice, fix only mistakes
If you ask a chatbot to "improve" a text, it will often rewrite it. Your text then sounds like everyone else's. Use this one when the voice matters, for a website, a personal story or a blog.
Proofread the text below as a careful editor. Keep my voice, my sentence length and my choice of words.
Only fix: spelling, grammar, wrong words, missing words and punctuation.
Do not make it more formal, shorter or "better". Do not add sentences.
Show the result with each change in [square brackets] so I can see it. Then ask me three questions about anything unclear.
Audience: [who will read this].
Text:
[paste text here]
Tip: If the chatbot changes too much, reply with one line: "You changed things that were not mistakes. Undo them and fix errors only."
What AI grammar checkers often miss
A checker finds broken grammar well. It is weaker where the sentence is correct but wrong for your situation. Look for these yourself.
- A wrong word spelled right. "Their" for "there", "form" for "from", "manager" for "manger". Each one is a real word, so spelling checks stay silent.
- Names. Your boss, your school, your street. The tool does not know the right spelling.
- Numbers and dates. "15 March" or "March 15"? Is the price right? Is the phone number complete?
- Missing words. Some tools skip a sentence with a gap if it still reads as grammar.
- Tone for the reader. A sentence can be correct and still too blunt for a customer or too stiff for a friend.
- Facts. Grammar tools do not check whether the claim is true.
Before and after: one fictional paragraph with every change listed
This is a made-up example (fictional). Sam writes a note for a small bakery website.
Before (fictional): "We opens at 7am every day expect Sunday. Our bread are baked fresh, and we also offers cakes for birthday. Come visit we on Maple Street."
After (fictional): "We open at 7am every day except Sunday. Our bread is baked fresh, and we also offer cakes for birthdays. Come and visit us on Maple Street."
| Change | Rule in plain words |
|---|---|
| "opens" to "open" | After "we", the verb has no -s. |
| "expect" to "except" | Wrong word, spelled right. "Except" means "not including". |
| "bread are" to "bread is" | "Bread" is one thing, so use "is". |
| "offers" to "offer" | Same rule as "opens". |
| "birthday" to "birthdays" | Cakes for more than one birthday: plural. |
| "visit we" to "visit us" | After a verb, use "us", not "we". |
Notice what the tool could not know: is the shop really closed on Sunday? Is the street really Maple Street? Only Sam knows.
A four-step proofreading routine for any text
- Let the machine go first. Run Prompt 1 or your built-in checker. Read the change list, not just the new text.
- Listen. Play the text with text-to-speech, or read it aloud slowly. Stop at every place that sounds odd. Our guide to turning text into voice for free shows one way.
- Check the facts on paper. Names, numbers, dates, links, prices. Compare each to the original source.
- Ask a person. Ask one reader: "Does anything sound strange or rude?" If no person is near, wait one hour and read it again.
Fix list: bad grammar-check results and what to do
| If the AI... | Do this |
|---|---|
| Rewrites the whole text | Use Prompt 2 and tell it to undo non-errors |
| Changes a name or a number | Put the original back and check it yourself |
| Gives no reason for a change | Ask: "Give the rule for change 3 in simple words" |
| Makes you sound stiff | Say "keep it friendly and short" and re-run |
| Says the text is perfect | Read it aloud anyway; tools miss missing words |
| Fixes a phrase you did not understand | Ask for two other ways to say it, then pick one |
Use the same routes for simpler English and business text
Grammar is only one part of clear writing. If your sentences are correct but long and hard, try rewriting sentences in simple English. If you write for customers, see AI writing tools for small business for where a grammar pass fits in your work.
When not to use AI for this:
Do not paste private text, such as contracts, medical details, passwords or customers' data, into a free chatbot. Check the tool's privacy settings first, or use the checker already on your device. Also, if a school or employer bans AI help for an assignment, follow that rule. Grammar fixes are not legal advice, and a contract needs a person who is qualified to read it.