Affected vs Effected: 10 Sites That Teach You Correct English Grammar Usage

If you’re not 100% confident in your grammar skills, you can easily find plenty of free grammar checkers and spell checkers online that will help you correct spelling errors and put commas in the right places. However, English grammar is way more complex than that, and it’s easy to confuse certain words when writing. 

Whether you’re a blogger, or simply want to improve your writing skills to avoid making spelling mistakes and grammatical errors when working in Gmail, here’s a list of the best grammar check websites that teach you correct grammar use.

1. Grammarly

Grammarly is a great online grammar checker for anyone who wants to write like a pro. The free version of this app provides spelling and grammar checks powered by artificial intelligence. That means that Grammarly’s more efficient at grammar correction and catches more of your spelling mistakes and redundancies. It also identifies more subtle mistakes that other grammar checking tools might miss. Those include contextual choice of words, like in the case of Affected vs Effected. 

The premium version of Grammarly also has a plagiarism checker, a punctuation checker, advanced checks for grammar errors, punctuation errors, sentence structure, and even human proofreading at an extra cost. 

You can use Grammarly online as a browser extension if you’re writing in Google Docs, as well as in the form of a mobile app for iOS and Android. Grammarly also offers integration with Microsoft Word if you prefer writing in a Word document.

2. Diffen

Diffen is a project inspired by Wikipedia, so it’s made in the form of a wiki that any user can edit. However, Diffen prides itself on providing unbiased information to its users, whether it’s a question of word choice, or comparing optical and digital zoom. They have editors and admins who make sure the content on the site is unbiased and fact-oriented. There’s a system of ratings and comments that helps filter the information. 

Diffen isn’t a grammar checker tool specifically. Still, if you’re just looking for some help to choose between two words, it does the job better than most language tools, as it’s straightforward and easy to use.

3. Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster is an online dictionary website that you can use to improve your English writing. While their main focus is on their Dictionary and Thesaurus, there are plenty of other language resources that they offer. That includes mobile apps for both iOS and Android that can help you polish your English language, podcasts that dwell on the origins of certain words and phrases of modern English language, and a series of videos that will help you choose the correct words and avoid typos.

There’s also a separate written section called Commonly Confused that focuses on using the correct English word. There you can learn the difference in the use of such word pairs as Further & Farther, Then & Than, and more. 

4. WikiDiff

WikiDiff is a great tool for someone who prefers a clean minimalistic interface with only the essential functions. This site allows you to compare any two words to see what’s the difference between them. All you need to do is open the site and put two words into the respective text boxes. On WikiDiff, you’ll find the meaning of the word, which part of speech it belongs to, usage notes, related terms and more.

WikiDiff is an online tool that you can use for free both on Mac, Windows, or your smartphone through a browser.

5. Grammar Monster

Grammar Monster is one of the best grammar check websites that can help you keep your writing error-free. If you’ve already tried some other online writing assistants and found yourself still confused about which word you need to use, Grammar Monster is the best choice for you.

This free tool features grammar lessons and interactive exercises that will help you memorize grammar rules and avoid making grammatical mistakes in the future. Here you’ll find a short explanation of the difference between the words, examples of correct use, a video summary, and an interactive game to check your knowledge. 

6. DifferenceBetween

DifferenceBetween presents itself as a knowledge hub rather than a grammar-oriented educational resource. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use it as a grammar corrector.

DifferenceBetween is a site that was put together by a team of professionals from different fields, including academics and experts of English grammar. So you can rely on this site to give you the best possible answer in differentiating any two terms. That includes easily confused words like Affected and Effected. All you need to do is put one of the words into the search bar, and the site will give you extensive information on the two terms and explain how they differ.

7. Quick and Dirty Tips by Grammar Girl

Mignon Fogarty, is the creator of Quick and Dirty Tips and Grammar Girl. Grammar Girl is both an online personality and a free online grammar tool that you can use to improve your writing. She provides quick and friendly tips that will help you choose the right word and format of writing and improve the readability of your texts.

Grammar Girl offers her content in different forms: you can find her quick tips in the form of short articles, in a series of books on grammar rules, and podcasts. On Quick and Dirty Tips, you’ll find each article accompanied by the words’ definitions, examples of use, a memory trick, and a drawn cartoon. That way you’ll be able to memorize the correct use of words no matter what kind of memory you have, and avoid making grammar mistakes in the future. 

8. Grammarist

When you first visit Grammarist, you might think that you’ve landed on a Wikipedia page, except every article is related to a grammatical conundrum. The Grammarist team put together a website that seems to have an answer to any grammar-related question. For each word or phrase, they provide definitions, conjugations, synonyms, examples of use, and bits of scientific explanation of its origins. 

Grammarist has articles on both basic grammar subjects, like Punctuation marks that can help you avoid making punctuation mistakes, as well as a massive section Words and Phrases that covers more complex matters. Under Words and Phrases you’ll find information on colloquialisms, homophones, cliches, redundancies, and other words that can be tricky to use.

9. The Editor’s Manual

The Editor’s Manual is a joint project of two editors with 10+ years of experience that aims to provide a free grammar check website for writers, speakers, editors, and language learners. In the Editor’s Manual they talk about grammar, punctuation, style, and word usage. If you’ve come across two nouns that are easy to confuse, the Editor’s Manual will provide you with all the information needed to make the right choice.

Most grammar-focused sites are either strictly minimalistic and lack any sort of UI, or are overly stuffed with various sections and lack structure. The Editor’s Manual gets it right: the site is user-friendly and easy to navigate, while also having its own unique appearance and attractive style. Whether you’re looking to check for grammar rules like subject-verb agreement, or just need to quickly learn the difference between regular and irregular plurals, you’ll find all of that in the Editor’s Manual.

10. GrammarBook.com 

GrammarBook.com is a free online source for grammar and punctuation rules created by Jane Straus, a renowned book author, English teacher, and a relationship coach. GrammarBook.com has extensive educational material on grammar rules, punctuation rules, and English rules in general. For each topic covered on the site, you’ll also find a video under English Usage Videos with a quick summary and explanation. 

However, the best part about this website is the free quizzes that you can take after you cover each subject. Every quiz is around 10 questions long, and you can see your grade, as well as the explanations for each mistake that you make afterward.