Questions tagged [headline-english]
Questions about the compressed style of English commonly employed in newspaper headlines.
46
questions
0
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0answers
25 views
Could articles be omitted in descriptions of art?
Compiling brief descriptions of art objects, is it okay to make do mostly without articles? For instance (about an old coin),
Eagle under crown; shield featuring Moscow’s coat-of-arms on eagle’s
...
0
votes
0answers
28 views
Need some help with articles in a simple list (please see the actual example below)
This is the list of topics and their tasks. Do I need to put articles in the following cases?
THE meeting:
Discuss achievements
Find solutions
THE brand's problem
Find the strategy
Set tasks
In ...
0
votes
1answer
87 views
What is the correct term for using a verb as an adjective? [closed]
My local newspaper has a confusing headline today: “Littlehampton rescue after person thrown from town inflatable“.
I am having difficulty working out whether this is (a) grammatically correct (should ...
1
vote
1answer
103 views
Infinitives in news titles
I have a question on the usage of infinitives in news titles. While infinitives are seemingly used to indicate that something will be happening in the near future in news headlines (as discussed in ...
0
votes
3answers
92 views
Definite article in the headlines containing ‘of’ [closed]
I’d like to know if we should keep an initial 'THE' in the titles of scientific papers, articles or finale papers of students, if they contain 'of'?
For instance:
The concept of truth in the work ...
0
votes
2answers
87 views
‘Dembele Cannot Have Said Much To The Referee’ - grammatically correct?
The title is from an article in BeSoccer.com:
Dembele cannot have said much to the referee
"I don't know what Dembele may have said to the referee but I don't think it's a long sentence because ...
6
votes
2answers
177 views
The “open-ended Irish backstop” (Brexit)
Downing Street let it be known that May’s withdrawal agreement might after all be acceptable, if only the open-ended Irish backstop could be removed. Brussels in return let it be known that Johnson’s ...
1
vote
0answers
56 views
by (the) way: incidentally
Microsoft® Encarta® 2009. defines incidentally as
by way: used to introduce additional information such as something that the speaker has just thought of
by chance: by chance or by accident
Is the ...
0
votes
1answer
2k views
What does “Will Lift Sanctions” mean? [closed]
A Wall Street Journal headline from May 7, 2019 reads
Pence to Announce U.S. Will Lift Sanctions on Venezuela Gen. Manuel Cristopher Figuera After He Broke Ranks With Maduro
What does will lift ...
1
vote
0answers
99 views
ISIS Suicide Blasts Kill More Than 220 Dead In Southern Syria
Going through this news article on NDTV website, I saw the headline 'ISIS Suicide Blasts Kill More Than 220 Dead In Southern Syria'. Is this usage correct? Or should it be 'ISIS Suicide Blasts Kill ...
0
votes
0answers
58 views
“Debussy, but EPIC for the new Godzilla trailer”
I have read (by accident, I'm sorry) a short news article that had the following headline:
Debussy, but EPIC for the new Godzilla trailer
The article text for this was as followed:
Godzilla 2: ...
0
votes
0answers
70 views
Why can one leave out the article in “Please contact administrator”? [duplicate]
As a native American English speaker, I wrote the following error message for our application: "There was an error. Please contact administrator."
A native German speaking colleague asked me why I ...
-1
votes
1answer
42 views
No Turkish troops for Iraq [closed]
Here is a sentence from a newspaper:
No Turkish troops for Iraq|at Defence talk.
What does it mean that Turkish have no troops to send Iraq?
6
votes
2answers
2k views
What does it mean to “cut aid”?
I read in a newspaper the following heading:
“Trump’s Threat To Cut Aid to Countries” = The US reduces its help…
Then I found in a dictionary: “Cuts aid rebels.” = The reduction is helping the ...
2
votes
2answers
174 views
When did we start kicking cans down the road ? And when did we lose the can?
I noticed this headline after talks on Brexit were stalled by whatever they were stalled by.
Stalled talks kick the border issue down the road
Ngram A // Ngram B
I tried Ngramming but, ...
0
votes
1answer
64 views
Is the sentence “Neil Young to open up entire online music archive for free”, correct? [closed]
I saw this headline today, "Neil Young to open up entire online music archive for free".
Is that sentence correct, and if so, could it have multiple meanings?
In this instance it's clear to me what ...
1
vote
1answer
460 views
Strange Omission of “to be” in The Onion Headlines
So I've noticed a pattern lately on the TheOnion.com of omitting 'is' from their headlines. I get shortening headlines but I can't say this pattern is familiar to me. It strikes me as obtuse and ...
1
vote
1answer
115 views
Missing punctuation and the tense usage
I have written the following sentence as a headline for an invitation email.
ABC Ltd. welcomes you to Exhibition Dubai 2017 held at the Dubai World
Trade Center from June 7 to June 9, 2017.
Am I ...
0
votes
0answers
50 views
Two past verb(or past participles) arranged side by side in news headline
De Lima ordered arrested by RTC link
From this answer
I somewhat understand of Headlinese. However, I still don't understand ordered. I mean, I can understand was is omitted in following sentence.
...
0
votes
1answer
329 views
Why use active voice in “Five killed as aircraft hits shopping centre”? [duplicate]
I think the five people were killed in the aircraft from this news. The headline is:
Melbourne plane crash: Five killed as aircraft hits shopping centre
Why use active voice rather than passive ...
1
vote
0answers
51 views
Why in error messages verb 'be' is not used? [duplicate]
In the computer world error messages are written without verb 'be'. For example,
file not found,
file not exist,
command not found,
no such file or directory
and so on.
So why verb 'be'...
-2
votes
1answer
77 views
“Fidel Castro Dead” - Is this Slang or common English Usage? [closed]
English is not my mother tongue, so I'm not sure if the title of an article I've read is legit: "Fidel Castro Dead". Shouldn't it be "Fidel Castro is dead"?
1
vote
1answer
192 views
Is there a need to use an article in a headline? [closed]
Which should I use?
Top restaurants within 5 minute walk
Top restaurants within a 5 minute walk
For broader context, this is to be used as a section heading in an app, and so adding an article ...
3
votes
2answers
156 views
CV/Résumé - Article Drop [closed]
I think my question is rather a stylistic one, but it really bugs me.
From a grammatical standpoint, "the" should always precede ordinal numbers. However, articles are usually omitted in headlines. ...
1
vote
1answer
93 views
Agency recommended that she 'not face' charges? [duplicate]
An excerpt from the sub-headline of a recent article in the WSJ:
FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday explained why his agency
recommended that Hillary Clinton not face criminal charges for her
...
1
vote
1answer
296 views
Should I put articles in the headlines of a CV? [closed]
For example, here:
My contribution: Front-end development.
(The) Project: Our team realized the most popular news resource for a big city.
16
votes
3answers
2k views
Why not an s on “speed” in “Ukraine speed to test new-look Germany defence”
This url links to an Australian article (sourced from Reuters) about a football team. The article has the following title:
Ukraine speed to test new-look Germany defence
I understand that the word ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
Proper use of the verb 'eclipse'
I need help settling a debate regarding the correct usage of the verb eclipse.
The headline in question is (slightly paraphrased):
Runner Completes 2mi Run; Eclipses 12m Result
Now, let's assume ...
1
vote
4answers
577 views
What is wrong with this headline?
"Fascist X" said a lawyer and sent to jail for insulting him.
There has been some discussion about this headline's structure. Since I intended to put the quoted speech in front of the sentence, I ...
1
vote
1answer
404 views
No inversion in questions in headlines and titles
Why do many titles and headlines read:
"Why Europe should become...", NOT "Why should Europe become...";
"How an inventor lost...", NOT "How did an inventor lose...";
"How the photocopier changed...", ...
1
vote
1answer
5k views
What do infinitives mean in news headlines? [closed]
I can't wrap my head around some English news titles with infinitives (I have tried to Google this, hopelessly).
Some examples:
Russia's Head Athletics Coach to Step Down After Doping Revelations¹
...
2
votes
3answers
849 views
Is “will open 1st quarter 2015” grammatically correct? [closed]
A lot of signs in the Hong Kong MTR writes:
xxx Station will open 1st quarter of 2015
Is this actually grammatically correct?
1
vote
4answers
168 views
Using “ex” on a genitive
I’ve constructed this headline:
“Opera Mini to become the default browser on Microsoft’s (ex Nokia’s) feature phones”
So, the phones in question used to be produced by Nokia, but Microsoft has ...
0
votes
2answers
89 views
What does “as poll nears” mean? [closed]
I just read The Jakarta Post
I've got this:
"Prabowo changes style in campaign as poll nears"
what is the meaning of 'as poll nears', I've got some guesswork and I am not really sure about it, ...
1
vote
1answer
753 views
Why did The New York Times use the present simple to describe a past event? [duplicate]
Statement is as follows:
Obama makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan.
Is this a simple present tense? If yes then please explain
As per the definition of simple present tense, this statement ...
0
votes
2answers
107 views
Question about headline “Inmate Dies Anyway”
I came across this headline: "Oklahoma Stops Botched Execution. Inmate Dies Anyway." (link)
I was truly disturbed by the use of "anyway". To me, it implies a nonchalant attitude about something that ...
6
votes
5answers
2k views
News article: “Man sentenced for murdering his 10th wife”. What does this mean?
Today I saw this headline for a news article online:
Man sentenced for murdering his 10th wife
I can't tell if a sentence of this nature means that the man has murdered 10 people (all of which ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
Is it ok to omit a possessive apostrophe before a capitalized appellation (President, country name, VP, PM)?
In a recent Financial Times article (Yemen PM Escapes Assissnation), the apostrophe necessary to show possession was left out. I've seen colleagues do it as well. Isn't it supposed to be "Yemen's PM ...
3
votes
5answers
3k views
Struggling to understand headlines that use ellipsis
I have trouble understanding headlines because they abuse ellipsis. Two examples:
"Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan To Awkwardly Hug, High Five For Next Three Months"
"Scores Dead as Fire Sweeps Through ...
2
votes
2answers
6k views
Is there a specific term for when you combine two unrelated terms in a headline in order to grab attention? [closed]
Is there a specific term for when you combine two unrelated terms in a headline in order to grab attention?
For example:
Bolivian Kick Boxer Meets US Marine
Or:
Kickboxer Meets a Marine (1)
...
2
votes
1answer
4k views
Capital letters in headlines [closed]
I’m not a native English speaker. I’ve noticed that in titles or headlines, many words often start with a capital letter while others are still lowercase. As an example, the title of my question ...
3
votes
3answers
6k views
Is “five-yearly” an acceptable usage of an adverb of manner in British English?
Today's BBC News web page has this headline:
New era of five-yearly doctor checks starts
There's a word that means "five-yearly": quinquennial. It's probably too long for headline writers and too ...
7
votes
1answer
944 views
What does “To” mean in a newspaper headline?
What does to mean in a newspaper headline, for example:
Airline XY to cut cost of pilots' wages
Is it a shorter form of "Is going to" or "Is planning to"?
17
votes
4answers
38k views
+150
What's the general rule for dropping articles in article & section titles or in figure & table captions?
It is said that "To give added punch, articles are often dropped in the titles of books, movies, music, and other works of art" and "To save space and boost impact, articles are usually ...
7
votes
5answers
450 views
“Gadhafi forces retreat” - how do you understand that?
Our local newspaper had the headline today "Gadhafi forces retreat" and I read it with "retreat" as the verb instead of "forces" as the verb. I know it is a poorly written headline, but which way is ...
32
votes
4answers
13k views
Why do newspaper headlines use strange syntax rules?
Newspaper/news article headlines usually have different syntax rules, for example
No copula. North Korea trip 'successful'
Past events written in present. Qantas cancels flight out of frozen Heathrow
...
