subtraction operator python
<p>I want to reduce the number of "the" words from a by 2. But this code doesn't seem to run. I cannot understand why the multiplication operator works but the subtraction operator doesn't.</p>

<pre><code>b = "the"
a = b * 5
print a
a -= (b * 2)  
print a
</code></pre>

<p>output</p>

<pre><code>the 
the the the the the 
Traceback (most recent call last):
    a -=  (b * 2)
TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for -=: 'str' and 'str'
</code></pre>

<p>How can I reduce the number of "the" 's in a by 2. If this cannot be done like this then is there a easier method perform this?</p>
