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Tanzania bans ‘a’ newspaper for 2 years
by bluesign 9y ago
Tanzania bans ‘a’ newspaper for 2 years
- gumby 9y agoI think the singular use of "newspaper" here follows convention in not needing a leading article ("a"). (Had it been plural the article would have also not been needed on a grammatical basis, although I think it would in that case have been fair to specify "some" or "all").
- paulddraper 9y agoLacking a definite article is incorrect and worse, confusing. "Tanzania bans fruit for two years" "Tanzania bans song for two years"
- jlg23 9y agoNo confusion The first can mean all fruit is banned, because "fruit" is a mass noun and as such does not have a plural form. The second clearly refers to one song, just like the headline refers to one newspaper.
- idle_processor 9y ago"Song" can also refer to the act of singing, so the second one still read ambiguously to me.
- zeroer 9y agoThe rules for newspaper headlines is not the same as for normal sentences. > "Tanzania bans song for two years" That's ungrammatical as a sentence but a perfectly good headline.
- jon_richards 9y agoOh, I actually thought it meant "newspaper" the material, similar to how some cities in India have banned disposable plastic.