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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

To put on a person's back or people's backs?

Hi. Please help. Let's say this is a kind of game where each person in the group has a piece of paper stuck to his back and people in the room will have to snatch the piece of paper from each other's back without getting too physical, so as to prevent anybody getting hurt. (I just thought of this game to ask the following question and I don't know if anyone came up with this game before or not.) Now, there is a bunch of paper and someone who doesn't know anything about the game asks what it is. Can we say this?

They are pieces of paper to put on a person's back.

I think this is correct, too, but I think the one above sounds better, if it is correct. Thank you in advance for your help.

They are pieces of paper to put on people's backs.
  

Top answer

They are both OK, but I prefer the 2nd, as the first sounds as if one person is burdened with all of the paper.

— Mister Micawber

  • They are both OK, but I prefer the 2nd, as the first sounds as if one person is burdened with all of the paper.
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3 Answers
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They are both OK, but I prefer the 2nd, as the first sounds as if one person is burdened with all of the paper.
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You definitely want "people's", because more than one person will be getting paper on their back.

Might be better to say "You'll put these on people's backs", as it might be obvious that they are papers and thus unnecessary to say.
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JaylorMight be better to say "You'll put these on people's backs", as it might be obvious that they are papers and thus unnecessary to say.
That is beside the point. Try to stick to the problem presented, Jaylor. There are always multitudinous other possibilities.
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