Grammatical question that I should really know the answer to

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Which one of these is correct?

"Please forward charges onto Mr K Jebson and adjust the Association's account accordingly."

"Please forward charges onto Mr K Jebson and adjust the Associations account accordingly."

...where the account is a Thing specific to the Association. I would have instinctively gone for the former but the person who was doing this job before me did not and I'm inclined to assume he was privy to information that I am not. I hate myself for STILL not being 100% on these matters dammit hell fuck curse.

― Alex in Rotherham (Alex in Doncaster), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:17 (twenty-two years ago)

If there is only one Association then the former is by default the correct answer. Is it the account of the Association?

― Mark C (Mark C), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Is Association the NAME of the account? As in, on the bank statement, it is addressed to Assocation, or it is Pay To The Order Of Assocation? Then it would be the latter. (For example, you have several accounts - Receivable Account, Payable Account, Association Account, etc.)

If it is an account belonging to The Association, it is the former, as in this is Mr Jebson's personal account, separate from the Association's business account.

But, working in accounting, even though the latter "sounds wrong" it is probably correct.

― kate (kate), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I mean, if I referred to something as Payable's Acount, people would laugh at me.

― kate (kate), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:23 (twenty-two years ago)

It's not neccessarily a gramatical question, BTW, but rather a question of accounting.

― kate (kate), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:24 (twenty-two years ago)

It is the account of the Housing Association, there is only one Association in this instance. Does this mean I'm right? Good lord.

― Alex in Rotherham (Alex in Doncaster), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw it as a grammatical question because I like the letters I send to be as flowery and pleasant to read as possible within the obvious austere confines of these accounting-type matters.

― Alex in Rotherham (Alex in Doncaster), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:28 (twenty-two years ago)

What is the actual Account Name? Ring the bank, or find a statement. If the Account Name is actually Associations, then it remains Associations Account. If (as I suspect) the Account Name is something like Rotherham Housing Association, Ltd. then Association's Account is correct.

― kate (kate), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:29 (twenty-two years ago)

It's the latter, excellent excellent. Admirable bit of housing-association-name-deducing detective work there Kate. Thanks for this.

― Alex in Rotherham (Alex in Doncaster), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:32 (twenty-two years ago)

(I have worked in Accounting for waaaaayyy too long.)

― kate (kate), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:35 (twenty-two years ago)

"Grammatical question to which I should really know the answer."

(sorry ;))

― g--ff c-nn-n (gcannon), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:38 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm going to draw rabbits on some important envelopes and pretend I didn't hear (read) that.

― Alex in Rotherham (Alex in Doncaster), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 12:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe it's different in the Queen's English, but in America I would also say:

"Please forward charges on to Mr K Jebson and adjust the Association's account accordingly."

(or alternately just drop 'on' altogether.)

― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 14:46 (twenty-two years ago)

It should be:
"Please forward all your saving on to Horace Mann, P.O. Box 69, Regina SK"

send me money now, jackasses.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 14:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Teeny beat me to that little piece of pedantry...

― smee (smee), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 14:50 (twenty-two years ago)

I wish to be buried with a red correction pen, please. :)

― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 14:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Like teeny said, I would drop the "on," but I would also add a "the" before "charges," and to get really niggly I would also drop the "the" just before "Association's" (unless the name on the account is "The Association" in which case "the" would be capitalized) so that the final sentence might read: "Please forward the charges to Mr K Jebson and adjust Association's account accordingly."

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 15:16 (twenty-two years ago)

That's awkward, though. This is the best, I think, at least for American usage: "Please forward the charges to Mr K Jebson and adjust the Association account accordingly."

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 15:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, 'onto' is wrong in this context. Not a UK/US thing.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

it shd be "unto"

― methuselah s (mark s), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 15:24 (twenty-two years ago)

"Please render unto Jebson that which is Jebson's"

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 15:33 (twenty-two years ago)

What is the actual Account Name? Ring the bank, or find a statement. If the Account Name is actually Associations, then it remains Associations Account...

phoning the bank to find out whether or not to put in an apostrophe might have been a little OTT!!!!!!!!

― ken c, Tuesday, 22 July 2003 15:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I would love to see someone get a verbal warning for persisting in using archaic language in their work correspondence.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 15:37 (twenty-two years ago)

That's what banks are for. Cunts. I hate banks.

― kate (kate), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 15:37 (twenty-two years ago)

The apostrophe is right, but you could also use the noun attributively as an adjective, as in "the Association account". The second option you list is certainly very wrong, as is "onto" - "on to" is okay, "to" is better.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 20:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm still dying over Nick's 2nd-to-last post, and its contrast with kate's seething anger - haha can't wait to meet you guys

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 20:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Gotta love the Tracer.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 23:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm dropping the "on" and going with Tracer's suggestion in spite of the fact that none of these letters will ever be given anything more than the most cursory of glances. Much gratitide again.

― Alex in Rotherham (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 23 July 2003 08:39 (twenty-two years ago)

And, also, tude.

― Alex Linsdell (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 23 July 2003 08:43 (twenty-two years ago)

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