Sentence Structure Question

[Ginger]

The BBC has a story today titled Uganda manhunt for police who shot dead girl of three. The front page link is headlined "Uganda Police Shoot Dead Girl of Three". Now, leaving alone for a moment that the BBC has this weird house style that apparently requires them to use country names instead of adjectives for third world countries (leading to "Uganda Police" instead of "Ugandan Police"), how do the headlines parse to people from the UK? To American ears, both headlines possess frightfully awkward sentence structures. "Police shoot dead girl of three" makes it sound to me like the girl was dead, and they shot her anyway. Americans would be more likely to say "Police shoot girl of three dead". Brits and others? Do the sentences sound natural and of clear intent to you?

[Robert]

Ginger, I agree. Of course, there's no real danger of misunderstanding, but 'who shot girl of three dead' is preferable. Unfortunately standards are pretty low these days. At the moment, the BBC have the following headline on their home page : "Wreckage of crashed helicopter found." They don't really need 'crashed,' but there you go.

[Joshua Rogan]

I think they make their headlines deliberately confusing so you are forced to click on the story just to find out what the heck it means.

[Pcdunn]

I think "girl of three" sounds very awkward, and would prefer the sentence to read "Police looking for gunman who killed three-year-old girl." If he is a gunman, he probably shot her dead, right?

[Abby Normal]

I have no idea what the hell that sentence means.

So the police shot her. Or a single police. Or someone else. Girl of three? Three what? Who's conducting the manhunt? Who are are looking for?

I've noticed over the past 5 years or so that online media really sucks and getting worse. The headlines makes no sense. Typos and grammatical howlers, no clear reporting.
I swear I have to read the first several paragraphs over and over just to try and decipher the basics.

News media is going to hell in a hand basket.

[GUT]

I have no idea what the hell that sentence means.

So the police shot her. Or a single police. Or someone else. Girl of three? Three what? Who's conducting the manhunt? Who are are looking for?

I've noticed over the past 5 years or so that online media really sucks and getting worse. The headlines makes no sense. Typos and grammatical howlers, no clear reporting.
I swear I have to read the first several paragraphs over and over just to try and decipher the basics.

News media is going to hell in a hand basket.

Reads like a cop shot her.

But I agree it's getting worse, not that I can talk.

[GUT]

I think they make their headlines deliberately confusing so you are forced to click on the story just to find out what the heck it means.

Yep, click bait.

[Ginger]

Thanks, everyone!

[Mayerling]

Slight side issue of interest.

Today's New York Times had an interesting interview with the woman who is one of the key lexicographers at the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. The reporter saw the immense card catalog system they have gotten that includes quotes on every conceivable word and it's meanings (ALL MEANINGS) back to the beginning of the 19th Century (the O.E.D. has an even longer tradition of this, but keep in mind that the Merriam Webster used mostly U.S. sources). Because most dictionaries are on line these days, the staffs of dictionary firms are cutting down, sadly enough. I recommend the article.

Jeff

[Sam Flynn]

It's an example of a phrasal verb - "to shoot dead". Other examples might be "to put off" and "to pull down".

[Robert]

I always remember when Moira Stewart read the news, she put particular emphasis on 'dead.' Images of Domestos came to my mind.

[Ginger]

It's an example of a phrasal verb - "to shoot dead". Other examples might be "to put off" and "to pull down".

I missed this. That's true enough insofar as it goes, but an American would almost always put the object in the verb phrase. E.g. "The police shot the girl dead", or "He pulled it down". That was really the question I was wondering about, although I phrased it in a more general way. Would British people find "The police shot dead the girl" a natural phrasing? I'm guessing not from the replies I got.

[GUT]

I missed this. That's true enough insofar as it goes, but an American would almost always put the object in the verb phrase. E.g. "The police shot the girl dead", or "He pulled it down". That was really the question I was wondering about, although I phrased it in a more general way. Would British people find "The police shot dead the girl" a natural phrasing? I'm guessing not from the replies I got.

I'd have no problems with either "to shoot dead" or "the police shot the girl dead" perhaps in context I'd prefer one over the other.

But then I find most Aussies handle the English/American thing fine.