Attributive Phrases
Wen-ling Su
Attributive phrases: phrases that attribute, or point to the origin of, the quoted source.
When the quotation is introduced by a sentence, the convention is to use a main sentence verb in the present tense. Even though your source has already been written (and so technically, the author has already declared or stated or concluded), when quoting sources you should use the present tense (declares, states, concludes). This applies even if you are discussing a literary work; thus you would say that Hamlet ponders: “To be or not to be . . . .”
The only exception to the use of the present tense would be if you were reporting the historical progress of some development or debate and you wished to emphasize that certain things were said at a particular point in time (“The Senator asserted: ‘I do not intend to dignify these scurrilous charges by responding to them.’”)
Verbs that help you attribute quotations:
Adds, agrees, argues, asks, asserts, believes, claims, comments, compares, concedes, concludes, condemns, considers, contends, declares, defends, denies, derides, disagrees, disputes, emphasizes, explains, finds, holds, illustrates, implies, insists, maintains, notes, observes, points out, rejects, relates, reports, responds, reveals, shows, speculates, states, suggests, thinks, warns, writes
Exercise: Which of these six versions of Mark’s comment makes it appear most authoritative? Explain.
1. According to the Chairman of the Environmental Subcommittee for the International Council of Shopping Centers, “Malls are designed to maximize profits. They were not built as a replacement for Main Street. If intimacy encourages sales, there will be intimacy” (Marks).
2. “Malls are designed to maximize profits,” according to Richard Marks.
3. “If intimacy encourages sales,” says Richard Marks, “there will be intimacy.”
4. Richard Marks, Chairman of the Environmental Subcommittee for the International Council of Shopping Centers, is perfectly candid: “Malls are designed to maximize profits.”
5. “Malls are designed to maximize profits,” says the Chairman of the Environmental Subcommittee for the International Council of Shopping Centers. “They were not built as a replacement for Main Street.” (Marks).
6. According to Richard Marks, malls “were not built as a replacement for Main Street.”