Grammar question!!

[Signsforwhile]

Customer ordered a sign over the phone for their house. It should read "The Thompsons"

Now.....is Thompsons plural? or Possesive ie: "Thompson's"

It is the Thompson's home, but there are also many Thompsons living there......

 

[MatthewTimothy]

request or get a proof signed off, customer is always right and it will be always the other way the customer expected it. Save yourself the time and frustration and fax it to them and let them sign off on it.

 

[J Hill Designs]

if their last name is thompsons then it would be thompsons'

if their last name is thompson then it would be thompson's

edit: i think.

 

[sar bossier]

if their last name is thompsons then it would be thompsons'

if their last name is thompson then it would be thompson's

edit: i think.

Proof it to the client BOTH ways, and like mentioned already, get THEM to choose, and sign off. That way, you are in the clear.

 

[threeputt]

Their's plural, posessive, and posessive plural.

Basic highschool stuff.

You need to know two things.

The correct spelling of their last name.
The intent of the sign. (is it to designate who owns the phone, the name of the family where the phone rings, etc.)

 

[oldgoatroper]

Well, it just all depends how the client wants it to read. Plural or Possessive.

I've never known there to be a right and wrong way.

Personally, I always have made these type signs as plural -- meaning this is the place where Thompsons (plural) live.

Using the possessive form is maybe a bit impersonal as it actually means this is the place owned by someone named Thompson.

 

[sfr table hockey]

The intent of the sign. (is it to designate who owns the phone, the name of the family where the phone rings, etc.)

If you meant this to be funny it was....... and if you didn't....it's still funny.:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

I think they ordered the sign via the phone, not for over the phone.

Made my day and it's still early.

 

[Signsforwhile]

FYI - this is a customer that has always had the attitude "do whatever you think will look nice" and has always been impressed. One of the very few....probably the only one, i rarely get a sign off for.

I'm leaning towards apostrophe solely because they are raging irishmen and I'd like to use a shamrock as an apostrophe. So if both ways are right.....

 

[oldgoatroper]

FYI - this is a customer that has always had the attitude "do whatever you think will look nice" and has always been impressed. One of the very few....probably the only one, i rarely get a sign off for.

I'm leaning towards apostrophe solely because they are raging irishmen and I'd like to use a shamrock as an apostrophe. So if both ways are right.....

It's more accurate to say the neither way is wrong in and of themselves. But both ways do have different and distinct meanings as outlined above.

 

[Hicalibersigns]

Personally, I always have made these type signs as plural -- meaning this is the place where Thompsons (plural) live.

This is what I would do. I find a sign stating ownership i.e. The Thompson's to be a bit awkward. Sort of like putting a sign on your car; This is Joe's Car.

 

[bob]

I'm leaning towards apostrophe solely because they are raging irishmen and I'd like to use a shamrock as an apostrophe. So if both ways are right.....

Bzzzzt...wrong.

What if the Thompsons are renting?

Unless you're dealing with a squad of megalomaniacs, signs of this nature are meant to identify the occupants of the house, not the owners of the house.

Try it this way. Drop the article 'the'. Then a proper sign would merely say "Thompson". If it said "Thompson's" it would make you shake your head and wonder, at least a little bit.

 

[genericname]

if their last name is thompsons then it would be thompsons'

if their last name is thompson then it would be thompson's

edit: i think.

The latter would only imply that there is one "Thompson" living there. If there are more than one of the same family there, they are the Thompsons, and if the plural is possessive, the sign should read " Thompsons' ", as is the residence of every family member.

The door to the washroom here was marked "Mens". Drove me crazy, as "Men" is already plural, so I threw a vinyl comma between the N and S.

Edit: Of course, I should stress that " Thompsons' " is only appropriate if the intent is possessive, as if to say "The Thompsons' residence". If you want the sign to simply mean that "The Thompsons live here", "Thompson" is fine.

 

[signcrafters london]

Thompsons is correct. But I always ask the customer. Too many times they are dead set that damn apostrophe, for whatever reason.

 

[J Hill Designs]

yeah it appears I slept through at least a few grammar classes

 

[TammieH]

It should read "The Thompsons" only use an apostrophe if the sign would read something like this "The Thompson's Residence"

 

[mikefine]

I vote no apostrophe. Technically, if you were writing a document, I think it should have one (s') because it is showing ownership. But it is going to look out of place on a sign.

By the way, it might be a fun consideration to use a font like "The Simpsons"?
I google imaged "The Thompsons" and that came up....

 

[fedoraoriginali]

This reminds me of my teaching days! Mikefine and others are correct. Does "The Simpsons" carry an apostrophe? No, because it means that the family's name is Simpson and there is more than one member in the family. Alternatively, it could also express the Simpson lineage. My bet is this is what they want to express instead of illustrating who owns the phone.

 

[GoodPeopleFlags]

I vote for no apostrophe.