Headlines in Spanish Newspapers

Question

What is the grammatical form that dictates how headlines are written in Spanish newspapers?

Answer 1

Wellm you're lucky because I'm a native spanish speaker and I studied journalism at the university. There are no grammar forms, but there are diferent styles according each genre or newspapers. For examples, for many newspapers , headlines cannot begin with an article. You can used them, but is better not to begin with "las, los, la, el, una, un,", etc.

For example, a headline could be "La policía encontró a los delincuentes", but is common for newspapers to write "Encontraron a los delincuentes".

This could help, but is not complete http://www.wikilearning.com/curso_gratis/edicion_en_prensa-titulares/5948-19http://www.wikilearning.com/curso_gratis/edicion_en_prensa-titulares/5948-19

Or try to buy a Manual de Estilo or a spanish newspaper.

This is the answer I was looking for. I frequently see headlines in the local Spanish paper and they look like they begin the verb as you described "Encontraron . . . " What verb form is this? - wprofit, Apr 22, 2011

"Encontraron" es Pretérito del Indicativo. Se conjuga como Hablar. Remember that in spanish the tacit subject is frecuently used. - blackvir25, Apr 24, 2011

Answer 2

In English headlines, the historical present is used, where the present tense is used to narrate past events, e.g., The Bulls win, Mr. So-and-So Dies, (A certain boat) Sinks, etc.

In Spanish, I'm not sure if it is used in headlines, but Wikipedia gives this definition and examples for presente histórico.

El presente histórico se refiere al uso trasladado del tiempo presente para eventos pasados. Es usado en narrativa para hacer los eventos más interesantes o variados o para contrastar algunos eventos con otros. Se usa el presente histórico cuando se habla de sucesos ya ocurridos en el pasado.

Ejemplos:

En el año 800, Carlomagno es coronado.

El día 15 de abril de 1912 se hunde el Titanic.

Although of couse headlines may also talk about the future, so in that case the future tense would be used. - Deanski, Apr 21, 2011

Answer 3

This are tips for a good headline http://www.wikilearning.com/curso_gratis/edicion_en_prensa-como_debe_ser_un_buen_titular/5948-26

After briefly reading the page, I've seen that the historical present is also used in Spanish to relate past events. - Deanski, Apr 21, 2011