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In a game where there are two factions fighting each other and they take turns moving their units, if I want to inform the player of the game which faction's turn it is, should I use a possessive noun?

Eg. in this specific case, I have a game where Humans fight Monsters. Should I say Humans Turn or Humans' Turn?

I can't say why but I feel like the former is correct. I don't recall any video game having a message like Player 1's Turn, just Player 1 Turn but the more I think about it the more the possessive form makes sense.

Or maybe it should actually be Human turn?

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  • 'Humans Turn' is saying that there is a bunch of humans, and they do indeed turn to face a different direction. I suspect this is not what you intended. – Marv Mills Nov 24 '15 at 12:31
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Humans' turn is correct. Your plural form already ends with an 's', so you form a possessive by adding an apostrophe.

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  • So, a possessive is needed because the turn "belongs" to humans? Or is there some other kind of relationship between nouns that can warrant using a possessive? – Maurycy Nov 24 '15 at 12:39
  • In ordinary English, you would certainly use a possessive form for this: my turn, your turn, his turn, David's turn, white's turn'; so _Humans' turn. What you would say in game-maker's-instruction-language might be different (especially if the game was made by people who did not have English as their first language). – Colin Fine Nov 24 '15 at 12:47
  • Heh, I didn't think about "my turn". I guess if we were not supposed to use a possessive we'd need to say "I turn" for it to make sense. Thanks! – Maurycy Nov 24 '15 at 13:07
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Now it's the Humans' turn. Down with the Monsters!

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