This week I ran into the grammar mistake of using verbs and verbal words in the wrong tense. There was a Facebook post that read stating “applying for jobs is so hard.” I pondered the post for a small amount of time. The writer used the word applying as the only subject of the sentence. This is a common mistake of using a word ending in -ing as an active verb. The mistake is a tricky one because it does not complete the sentence, but it sounds like the perfect verb. A better way to write this post would be “it is hard to apply for jobs.”

                The Topical Guide is an excellent resource for writing. I tend to confuse the rule of numerals while fast writing and find myself pausing before making the decision to write the word out or use numerals. It’s a fairly easy concept to grasp. Spell out whole numbers below 10 and use figures for number above 9. You should spell out fractions less than one and numerals at the beginning of a sentence. Another example of the many things I learned from the Topical Guide is the distinction between the words that, which and who. I tend to mistake where to place the words that and who primarily. The word that is used to restrict meaning and which is used to elaborate on it. The word who can be used in both references whether it be toward people or to things with human qualities.