Search results for 'tag:Quoting' matching tag 'Quoting'

Re: paraphrasing "it is used to be assured that"

Philip — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 15:08:30 GMT

Souroin wrote:

Hello everyone,

I'm not sure which forum my question may fall under, so forgive me if I posted to a wrong forum.

Quoting from PBS site: The Roman philosopher Seneca knew that "it is useful to be assured that the heavings of the earth are not the work of angry deities. These phenomena have causes of their own." (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/earthquake/causes.html), I can't get the feeling of the first "it is useful to be assured". Could anybody paraphrase this in plane way? Thank you for your time and answer in advance.

Regards,

If you believe in superstitious causes for the earth's temblings, you'll never get to the real cause. It is not 'useful' to use anything other than scientific observations.

paraphrasing "it is used to be assured that"

souroin — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:20:27 GMT

Hello everyone,

I'm not sure which forum my question may fall under, so forgive me if I posted to a wrong forum.

Quoting from PBS site: The Roman philosopher Seneca knew that "it is useful to be assured that the heavings of the earth are not the work of angry deities. These phenomena have causes of their own." (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/earthquake/causes.html), I can't get the feeling of the first "it is useful to be assured". Could anybody paraphrase this in plane way? Thank you for your time and answer in advance.

Regards,

Re: Quotations, commas, and capitalization

Yoong Liat — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 11:28:29 GMT

Scribbler wrote:

What about in a sentence such as:

But ultimately, he said, âsuccess really does build success.â (Same as stated below.)

or

Ultimately, he said, âthe war machinery that uses force will benefit more in the long term,â stressing that it must be considered how the people evaluating the actions of the military will judge its actions. (No capital is needed if the writer is not quoting all that is said by the speaker. In other words, there are some words left out before 'the war machinery'.)

Each of these examples came from articles published online by well-known U.S. colleges. Is it correct NOT to capitalize the first letter in the quotation in these cases? If so, why is capitalization not required here, while it IS required in After a while, he said, "The scars will fade."?

different way of quoting?

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 10:36:04 GMT

Hi,

Usually what I see is this form whenever quoting is involved:

He said, "I need your help."

But then, I seem to see these kinds of quoting styles (if I can call them that) -- one seems to be in indirect quoting style:

1. He told reporters that this is a bad way to deal with the situation and that "this should not be the policy of this great nation." -- how is this done? Is it being quoted directly or indirectly or what? What is the exact word he said?

2. He gave his endorsement of "positive reinforcement" and warm nurturing. -- What is the rationale for putting some words in quotes? To highlight the message it conveys? Or highlight the term?

3. ... Matisoff wrote in his doctoral dissertation that the "Lahu language is strikingly similar to Korean in grammatical structure." --

Why did he resort to an indirect method of quoting? Can I replace "write" with "said" to make my question more in line with other questions?

Any help will be appreciated

Re: Thank you

Delmobile — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:18:26 GMT

No, "little Stevie King" is the substitute for Chuck Yeager. He's the one who's going to test whatever it is.

Stratford is, I assume, the town where they live (or perhaps it's the name of their school---I'm not sure what you're quoting). As its "answer" or substitute for Chuck Yeager, Stratford is offering little Stevie King.

Re: Comma after this quote??

Clive — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 01:08:17 GMT

Hi,

Where would the commas be (if any) in this sentence?

-- The quote "Romance at short notice was her specialty" shows that she is rather skilled at making up stories like these.

The term 'quote' is an informal versionof the word 'quotation'. I suggest that you use the full form, since you want to make your sentence as correct as possible.

The quotation, "Romance at short notice was her specialty", shows that she is rather skilled at making up stories like these.

Better yet, why say it is a quotation when that is evident from the fact that you are quoting it? I prefer something like this.Her remark/comment/statement, "Romance at short notice was her specialty", shows that she is rather skilled at making up stories like these.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: I'm gonna get me/myself a...

Delmobile — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:42:10 GMT

Oh, Barbara. Are you quoting a popular song, perhaps? Why would you want to mislead our poor learners in this way?

All the "i'm-a" business aside, there's nothing wrong with, "I"m going to buy myself some fries." It's grammatically correct and makes abundantly clear not only who is paying for the fries, but who is going to be eating them.

I'm going to buy me some fries, or
He's going to get him a new car, etc

however often we may hear them, are not correct. But I don't know where this comes from. I would guess some kind of crossover from a Latin language, maybe, but that's cause I grew up in south Louisiana hearing people say things like, "Me, cher, I think that's too much to pay." Perhaps a knowledgeable linguist will weigh in.

Re: About quoting

Scandza — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:58:29 GMT

Hi Zerox

As far as I know there is no rule in quoting texts. You can either use three full stops or just a single one.
For example, in the short story The Book of Sand, Borges cites a fragment of George Herbert's poem "The Collar"

... thy rope of sands...

using three full stops twice between commas. Also I've read many quotations that have three full stops in the originals but transcribed with one or no full stops.
I think it really depends on the context. Could you write the text so we can see what is more suitable for it?

Thanks

About quoting

Zerox — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 08:57:09 GMT

I couldn't find any info on this on the Internet, so I ask it here. I'm doing an essay and I want to add a quote in the text. However, I do not desire to quote the whole sentence, that is, I wish to quote only the things before a comma and not the things after the comma. I just can't remember how to do it. I'm quoting from a short story. I vaguely remember it should be done like this: "This part I desire to quote..." Is it like that? Does those three full stops mean that the sentence continues but I do not wish to quote it all?

Thanks

revision/thought on my final paper would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:04:17 GMT

The paper is in MLA format and I had some trouble keeping it in present tense, block quoting a speech from poetry, and siting the poetry inside the paragraphs themselves help would be very very appreciated. sorry its so long. also I dont know if i like my closing statement, should I add more or take a more traditional approach to it?
thank you,
frantic senior.

   (already corrected)Throughout time there has been a constant struggle between light and dark, good and evil, heaven and hell. This everlasting conflict is depicted most famously in Beowulf, a timeless Old English epic poem written in the Anglo-Saxon time period between 449 and 1066. The original creator is unknown, but was first composed by Christian monks after years of paganistic oral illustration. In Anglo-Saxon culture, along with literature, one not only had to be a strong, intelligent, and brave warrior but also show devout loyalty to his brethren. Beowulf embodies the quintessential Anglo-Saxon hero. He sails the seas to a neighboring country to gain fame by defending and defeating seemingly impossible super-natural forces, while showing his unparalleled god-like strength.(already corrected)

    Beowulfâs super-human strength compares to no other of his time. Several points throughout the story Beowulf Displays such strength that one can hardly believe heâs a mortal man. Beowulf exhibits this incomprehensible strength when he is clashing with Grendel. While leaning up on one arm he locks on to Grendelâs flaying limb and violently heaves, yanking so hard he tears skin, muscle, and bone clean off Grendelâs shoulder (âGrendel,â lines 265-270). Once again, in the heat of battle with Grendels revenge thirsty mother, Beowulf exhibits this spectacular brawn when he spots âa [massive] heavy swordâ¦/hanging on the wallâ¦/so heavy no mortal man could lift [it]â(âGrendelâs Mother,â lines 215-220). He snatches the sword off the wall like it was an ordinary feat and brings it crashing down upon the evil she wolfâs neck, slicing it clean off.

Almost equivalent to his mind numbing strength is his wisdom and intelligence that far surpasses his young age. Before making the journey over seas to Herot the young hero has to first ask for recourse from the elders. With zero hesitation the elders agreed with his request to gain fame by defending his fatherâs allied domain and the slaying of evil demonic monsters. Later in Beowulfâs life, at an old age of 60, heâs informed of a dragon pillaging his countryside in search of an appropriated item. Beowulf feels such a substantial amount of guilt that he feels he must act on behalf of his compatriots. Beowulf believes that anything that goes askew in his country or to his countrymen is his responsibility. âHe accus[es] himself of breaking gods lawâ(âDeathâ lines 17-18) and that he has brought âThe Almightyâs anger down upon his peopleâ(âDeathâ lines 19-20). The old stout king, humbled by many years of a war torn life, suits up for his last confrontation.

One of the most important qualities of this Anglo-Saxon hero is his exceptional bravery, exclusively in the face of eminent death. Early in his life Beowulf is portrayed as slightly over confident. When he arrives in the court of Hrothgar and he declares:

âGrendel is no braver, no stronger than I am! I could kill him with my sword; I shall not, easy as it would be. This fiend is a bold and famous fighter, but his claws and teeth scratching at my shield, his clumsy fists beating at my sword blade, would be helpless. I will meet him with my hands empty-unless his heart fails him, seeing a soldier waiting

weaponless, unafraid. Let God in His wisdom extend His hand where

He wills, reward whom He chooses!â(âGrendelâ lines 133-143).

After successfully fulfilling his prophecy, Beowulf hunts down the wicked mother of the forlorn beast whom he had just slain. He finds himself and his men at a pool swarming with serpents and water beasts yet he throws on his hauberk and dives through the serpents. Pushing his way towards the essence of all-evil with only a vest of chain mail to protect him.

Beowulf, still today, stands as a record of values and customs from an unrefined and heroic time. It embodies the message: "Do your utmost to gain a good name and fame because, after death, itâs all of you that can remain in this world. It is the courage to strive for this, not success, that ultimately and eternally enshrines a true hero in legend."