News Headline Style

Level 5Sounds Like mathaḷyān̄cī bhāṣā

A headline has no full stop, and a comma often takes the place of आणि.

How It Works

A headline is mostly a noun phrase, not a full sentence. The place often comes first, with -त, -मध्ये or -वर. After it, the news often follows without a verb. मुंबईत मुसळधार पाऊस, शाळांना सुट्टी (Heavy rain in Mumbai; holiday for schools).

Full sentenceHeadline
पुण्यात नवीन पूल खुला झाला आहे.पुण्यात नवीन पूल खुला
कोल्हापुरात पूरस्थिती गंभीर आहे.कोल्हापुरात पूरस्थिती गंभीर
गणेशोत्सवासाठी मंडई सज्ज झाली आहे.गणेशोत्सवासाठी मंडई सज्ज

When a verb stays, it is often in the present, even for something that is just beginning or has just happened. मुंबईत मेट्रोची नवी मार्गिका आजपासून खुली होते (A new Metro line opens in Mumbai from today).

A comma joins two pieces of news, and it does the work of आणि. There is no full stop at the end of a headline. Conversational contractions such as पडतोय do not appear in a headline.

These headlines belong to written news. In a chat or a lesson sentence, say the whole thing with आहे.

Examples (5)

  1. मुंबईत मुसळधार पाऊस, शाळांना सुट्टी

    Heavy rain in Mumbai, holiday for schools

    The verb आहे is dropped, and the comma joins two pieces of news.

  2. पुण्यात नवीन पूल खुला

    New bridge open in Pune

    The verb झाला आहे is dropped.

  3. दादर स्थानकावर प्रवाशांची गर्दी

    Crowd of passengers at Dadar station

    The headline is a noun phrase with no verb.

  4. कोल्हापुरात पूरस्थिती गंभीर

    Flood situation serious in Kolhapur

    The verb आहे is dropped.

  5. मुंबईत मेट्रोची नवी मार्गिका आजपासून खुली होते

    A new Metro line opens in Mumbai from today

    A headline uses the present tense for an event that is just starting.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a spoken contraction in a headline.

    मुंबईत मुसळधार पाऊस पडतोय
    मुंबईत मुसळधार पाऊस

    A headline mostly keeps to nouns, and the spoken contraction पडतोय belongs to speech.

  • Ending a headline with a full stop.

    मुंबईत मुसळधार पाऊस, शाळांना सुट्टी.
    मुंबईत मुसळधार पाऊस, शाळांना सुट्टी

    A headline has no full stop at the end.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

News Headline StyleLevel 5

Learn This First

Headlines drop words.

Words in This Pattern

मध्येवर