[Vocabulary] Understanding meaning of a sentence

[captain1]

Hello, I didn't understand something.
I am reading this paragraph in BBC
Israel-Palestinian violence: Israeli killed in Beersheba bus station attack


1. I know that the terrorist who killed is a Palestinian(Bedouin). So, why BBC are writing: Israeli killed and not was killed?
2. What is the meaning grammatically if BBC would write: Israeli has been killed?

Thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

In headlines and captions in newspapers, space is an important issue so words are sometimes omitted as long as the meaning is still clear.

An Israeli person has been killed in the Beersheba bus station attack.
[STRIKE]An[/STRIKE] Israeli [STRIKE]person[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]has[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]been[/STRIKE] killed in [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] Beersheba bus station attack.

As you can see, the meaning remains but they have saved a lot of words/space.

 

[captain1]

Thank you so much now I understand.

I have another question: what is the difference between an Israeli was killed and an Israeli has been killed?
What is the meaning and the difference between them.(This example helps me to understand the difference between present perfect and past simple).

Thanks a lot

 

[bhaisahab]

There is no practical difference in meaning in your examples.
(In the interests of fact and balance. "The attacker was shot dead. Police said he was an Israeli Arab. An Eritrean bystander, mistaken as an accomplice, was shot and beaten, and later died.")

 

[captain1]

I understand, so the terrorist is an Israeli too.


I have another question: what is the difference between an Israeli was killed and an Israeli has been killed?
What is the meaning and the difference between them.(This example helps me to understand the difference between present perfect and past simple).

 

[bhaisahab]

With "A person has been killed in a terrorist attack" we know that it happened recently but we don't know exactly when. If we want to specify a date, time, etcetera, we use the simple past "A person was killed in a terrorist attack yesterday". We cannot say "A person has been killed in a terrorist attack yesterday".
Does that answer your question?

 

[captain1]

Yes. Thank you

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Captain:

You have already received the answers to your questions. I just wanted to add a few comments that might interest you.

Here is a headline from a Sunday newspaper: Ex-premier freed from detention.

In my opinion, that is short for "An ex-premier has been freed from detention."

As you know, the present perfect is often described as something that happened in the past and is still "touching the present."

Therefore, probably the ex-premier was released on Saturday.

The idea of a headline is to grab your attention. To connect something to the present is more interesting than talking about the "boring" past.

BUT look at the first sentence under the headline: "Former ... Prime Minister [his name] left home as a free man for the first time in 10 months after a ... court lifted the house arrest order it had imposed on him."

The writer decided that "left" was more appropriate than "has left," for s/he wanted to state a past action. (Maybe it happened at 10 a.m. on Saturday, for example.)

The headline writer, however, probably meant "has been freed" because s/he wanted to convey the idea that what happened on Saturday (?) was still "fresh" news to us readers on Sunday.

Source: Los Angeles Times,, October 18, 2015.

 

[captain1]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Captain:

You have already received the answers to your questions. I just wanted to add a few comments that might interest you.

Here is a headline from a Sunday newspaper: Ex-premier freed from detention.

In my opinion, that is short for "An ex-premier has been freed from detention."

As you know, the present perfect is often described as something that happened in the past and is still "touching the present."

Therefore, probably the ex-premier was released on Saturday.

The idea of a headline is to grab your attention. To connect something to the present is more interesting than talking about the "boring" past.

BUT look at the first sentence under the headline: "Former ... Prime Minister [his name] left home as a free man for the first time in 10 months after a ... court lifted the house arrest order it had imposed on him."

The writer decided that "left" was more appropriate than "has left," for s/he wanted to state a past action. (Maybe it happened at 10 a.m. on Saturday, for example.)

The headline writer, however, probably meant "has been freed" because s/he wanted to convey the idea that what happened on Saturday (?) was still "fresh" news to us readers on Sunday.

Source: Los Angeles Times,, October 18, 2015.

That's wonderful, I am learning communication and English at the same time. Good for me.

Regard to this:
"Former ... Prime Minister [his name] left home as a free man for the first time in 10 months after a ... court lifted the house arrest order it had imposed on him
1) Can I assume that he used left and not has left because the same reason Bhaisahab wrote? Because he used time: the first time in 10 months (It's no possible to use present perfect when you are writing about specific time).

2)If the writer doesn't know the time exactly and he doesn't write it. So why to use present simple? present perfect its better because it lets you not to be specific(with time, just to say "it was happened, that's what we know for now"..
Thanks.

 

[captain1]

That's wonderful, I am learning communication and English at the same time. Good for me.

Regard to this:
"Former ... Prime Minister [his name] left home as a free man for the first time in 10 months after a ... court lifted the house arrest order it had imposed on him
1) Can I assume that he used left and not has left because the same reason Bhaisahab wrote? Because he used time: the first time in 10 months (It's no possible to use present perfect when you are writing about specific time).

2)If the writer doesn't know the time exactly and he doesn't write it. So why to use present simple? present perfect its better because it lets you not to be specific(with time, just to say "it was happened, that's what we know for now"..
Thanks.

Thanks for your like. Do you have any idea to my questions?

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Captain:

1. Other members will soon answer your questions. I do not have the confidence.

2. I have just gotten Monday's newspaper. It tells about the attack yesterday.

a. Here's the headline: Attacker kills ____ soldier, injures 9 at busy bus station. [Please notice the present tense!]

b. The deck [the little headline under the big main headline] says: Complex in southern city is evacuated and [is] searched. (Please notice the present tense "is" is used, not "was.")

c. There's also a photograph. The caption [words under the picture]: A wounded police officer is taken away from the bus station after the attack in [name of city and country].

I think that studying newspaper headlines is a great way for all of us to better understand the use of tenses.

Source: Los Angeles Times, October 19, 2015.

 

[Matthew Wai]

2)If the writer doesn't know the time exactly and he doesn't write it. So why to use present simple?

Do you mean the past simple, which was used instead of the present simple in your quoted sentence?

 

[captain1]

Do you mean the past simple, which was used instead of the present simple in your quoted sentence?

Yes. Sorry for my mistake.

 

[captain1]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Captain:

1. Other members will soon answer your questions. I do not have the confidence.

2. I have just gotten Monday's newspaper. It tells about the attack yesterday.

a. Here's the headline: Attacker kills ____ soldier, injures 9 at busy bus station. [Please notice the present tense!]

b. The deck [the little headline under the big main headline] says: Complex in southern city is evacuated and [is] searched. (Please notice the present tense "is" is used, not "was.")

c. There's also a photograph. The caption [words under the picture]: A wounded police officer is taken away from the bus station after the attack in [name of city and country].

I think that studying newspaper headlines is a great way for all of us to better understand the use of tenses.

Source: Los Angeles Times, October 19, 2015.

I didn't understand b. but regard to a. how? its like it is happening now(now, this moment he killed) and the event is not happening now but it happened yesterday. So why did they use present simple and not past simple or present perfect?

 

[Matthew Wai]

Former ... Prime Minister [his name] left home as a free man for the first time in 10 months after a ... court lifted the house arrest order it had imposed on him.

I think the present perfect 'has left' should not be used because 'after a ... court lifted' is there, i.e. the sentence refers to the past.

 

[captain1]

I think the present perfect 'has left' should not be used because 'after a ... court lifted' is there, i.e. the sentence refers to the past.

So why not to write : prime minister leaves?

 

[captain1]

I understand, what about this:
Here's the headline: Attacker kills ____ soldier, injures 9 at busy bus station.
how is possible? its like it is happening now(now, this moment he killed) and the event is not happening now but it happened yesterday. So why did they use present simple and not past simple or present perfect?

 

[Matthew Wai]

why did they use present simple

Because it was used in a headline, according to post#17 above.

it was happened

I think it can't be correct in any context.

 

[captain1]

I understand.
Thanks