Verbs to quote and paraphrase

October 1, 2009 5:47 PM

Help me write my thesis! I need more of those verbs used to quote or paraphrase an author. (For example: writes, suggests, found, explains.) I'm writing in spanish, but english is ok and I'll translate later.
posted by CrazyLemonade to education (24 comments total)

According to [cite], "blah."
posted by axiom at 5:49 PM on October 1

Argues, observes, points out, describes, illustrates, illuminates, recognizes....
posted by keener_sounds at 5:58 PM on October 1

You might also describe the mood of the quote - "praises", "complains", etc.
posted by moxiedoll at 6:00 PM on October 1

Concludes, summarizes, adds.
posted by box at 6:17 PM on October 1

Claims, states, argues, contends, writes, says, agrees, disagrees, quotes, jokes, quips.
posted by Rallon at 6:20 PM on October 1

See 'verbs to introduce authors' on this page [disclaimer: I'm the webmaster of OWLL]
posted by Paragon at 6:25 PM on October 1 [1 favorite]

asserts
posted by chrisamiller at 6:28 PM on October 1

"has determined"
posted by kylej at 6:30 PM on October 1

Indicates
posted by Ironmouth at 6:31 PM on October 1

Notes, details.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 6:38 PM on October 1

"Traces" or "chronicles" works in certain places.
posted by umbú at 6:52 PM on October 1

holds
asserts
maintains
says
claims
argues
concludes

suggests (connotes a weaker level of assertion than the above, to my ear)


demonstrates
proves
shows

Note that some of these terms connote that the person succeeds in making their case -- that is, they connote that you the author agree that the person succeeded. So for example, you should not say that "Smith proves that Shakepeare's plays were written by Marlowe" unless you think that Smith is correct. If you disagree with Smith, you need to use a form like:
attempts to prove
attempts to show
attempts to demonstrate
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:06 PM on October 1

declares maintains, avers
posted by univac at 7:08 PM on October 1

acknowledges

(GREAT question, by the way)
posted by pised at 7:12 PM on October 1

Please don't try too hard to sprinkle "variety" into your phrases like this. The "trying too hard" usually shows through.

(The best novelists use "said" 95% of the time. It just vanishes to the reader and lets you focus on the content, instead of the wrapper.)

When you have to use three-dollar words, be sure they actually apply. If you use "demonstrates", make sure the quote is actually a demonstration, and so on. Check when proofreading to be sure you're not making crazy mismatches.
posted by rokusan at 7:55 PM on October 1 [1 favorite]

observa, indica, dice, explica, da de ejemplo, surije, ensena, muestra, escriba, anota, expresa, expone, ha publicado, mencione, contesta, aclara, comenta, define, elucida, razona, justifica, interpreta, presenta, revela, instruye, describe

you can always mix it up a bit by using some actual quotes introduced by phrases like "en las palabras de..." or "como escribio en un ensayo escrito en 1972" etc.
posted by emd3737 at 7:55 PM on October 1 [2 favorites]

opines
avers
declaims
implies
insinuates
posted by alms at 8:45 PM on October 1

What you might need is Thesaurus.com or; in Spanish.
posted by adamvasco at 3:30 AM on October 2

Actually? You should use NONE of these other words. It is a terrible mistake to do otherwise.

You should only use "wrote" or "said," whichever is appropriate. (As in, whether the person is writing or speaking.) And yes, it should be in the past tense: not the Spanish equivalent for "writes." They have already written it, so it should be "wrote."

I know that this sounds boring! But those are the only words that should be used. Other usages are distracting, annoying and--pardon bluntness!--reek of the amateur. Keep it minimal, stick with the basics, and your writing will read and flow better without these distracting, stagey words.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 7:46 AM on October 2

Thanks everyone for your answers. I'm marking Paragon's as a best answer because the website already has a list, but I'm making my own list out of all to answers to translate later. Thanks to emd3737 for actually giving verbs in spanish, although I have no idea what "surije" is supposed to mean. Or maybe you were thinking of "sugiere"?

Rokusan and RJ Reynolds, I respectfully disagree with what you're saying. I don't know if you're coming from a more literary perspective, but my thesis is about psychology and education, and most of textbooks and studies I'm reading, actually use verbs that signal what the original author's intentions were. (Like "argues", "identifies", "explains".) I do agree though, as a reader of fiction, that in novels I prefer the more regular "said".

Anyone interested in this thread, maybe later I'll put up all the suggestions in a list, and I'll add the spanish version too.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 9:03 AM on October 2

I hear what you are saying, but I still think you should be restrained with the special words. Your reader does not want to have to worry what exactly did you mean by that?
posted by Idcoytco at 9:15 AM on October 2

Here's the list, taken from what's in the thread.

acknowledges
adds
agrees
argues
asserts
avers
chronicles
claims
complains
concludes
contends
declaims
declares
demonstrates
describes
details
disagrees
has determined
holds
illuminates
illustrates
implies
Indicates
insinuates
jokes
maintains
Notes
observes
opines
points out
praises
proves
quips
quotes
recognizes
says
shows
states
suggests
summarizes
Traces
writes
posted by CrazyLemonade at 9:22 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

List in spanish (not all words have an equivalent, though):

afirma
agrega
alaba
apunta
argumenta
bromea
cita
conluye
declama
declara
demuestra
describe
detalla
determina
dice
enseña
escribe
esta de acuerdo con
está en desacuerdo con
ilustra
implica
indica
insinúa
mantiene
muestra
nota
observa
opina
prueba
reconoce
reconoce
resume
se queja
sostiene
sugiere
traza
posted by CrazyLemonade at 9:23 AM on October 2

espouses, imparts, invokes, foregrounds, emphasizes

but someone above is correct, don't overdo it if you're writing scholarly prose.
posted by fourcheesemac at 10:25 AM on October 2