Janet Hamilton: Nothing beats the human eye

Many thanks to Gazette columnist J.M. Sorrell for putting us straight about spelling, grammar and word sources [“The official language,” April 2]. 

I have often wanted to comment on these things, but as a foreigner, though for many years now a U.S. citizen, I have hesitated, thinking it might seem as if I were trying to be superior.

My feeling is that Spellcheck is partly responsible for many errors, as it can tell whether a word is in the dictionary but not always if it is correct for that particular place in the sentence. Nothing beats the human eye.

One question I have is, why do people always talk about “a long ways” since “a” is singular and “ways” is plural?

Janet Hamilton

Amherst