The Style of the News
Headlines keep only the key words, and articles use participles and noun phrases to say a lot in few words.
How It Works
| Full sentence | Headline |
|---|---|
| La prezidanto vizitos Brazilon. | Prezidanto vizitos Brazilon |
| La polico arestis tri homojn. | Polico arestis tri homojn |
A headline needs no full stop and often has no la. Every word keeps its ending, so the headline still reads clearly: vizitos still shows the future, and Brazilon still shows the object. PMEG notes that shortened sentences are normal when the situation makes the meaning clear.
Inside an article, writers save words with participles. La ministro, parolanta pri la nova leĝo replaces a kiu clause, and la partoprenintoj means those who took part. A number of people or things is often given as a noun phrase, such as centojn da domoj.
Monato is a monthly magazine whose correspondents write about their own countries, and Libera Folio is an online bulletin about the Esperanto movement. Both are good places to read this style.
Examples (5)
- Prezidanto vizitos Brazilon
President to visit Brazil
A headline: la is left out, and the verb ending still shows the future.
- Polico arestis tri homojn
Police arrest three people
Another headline, with the object ending kept.
- La ministro, parolanta pri la nova leĝo, diris, ke ĝi helpos familiojn.
The minister, speaking about the new law, said that it will help families.
The participle parolanta packs a whole clause into the sentence.
- La partoprenintoj de la konferenco ricevis diplomojn.
Those who took part in the conference received diplomas.
Partoprenintoj is a participle noun: those who took part.
- Pluvego damaĝis centojn da domoj en la regiono.
A rainstorm damaged hundreds of houses in the region.
Centojn da domoj gives the size of the damage in few words.
How It Connects
Learn This First
News style builds on participle nouns, participle phrases and the formal register.
Related Patterns
Practice The Style of the News in Bubblegum
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