Court Reporting: Bad Grammar/ Good Punctuation

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Court Reporting:Court Reporting:

Bad Grammar/Bad Grammar/

Good PunctuationGood Punctuation

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The Comma That SeparatesThe Comma That Separates

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 We reviewed his file,, ma’am..

 I know she started May 4,, 2011..

 He works in Hammond,, Indiana..

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The Comma That Sets OffThe Comma That Sets Off

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 We reviewed his file,, ma’am,, before

we hired him to work for us..

 I know she started May 4,, 2011,, but

stayed just six months..

 He works in Hammond,, Indiana,, at

the courthouse there..

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AA We worked until well after

midnight that night.. There was a rush

order that we had to get out..

The next morning I was

awakened by a call from........

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AA I was walking with my daughter..

We were talking,, and I was not really

paying attention to what was going on

around me.. We were discussing her

college applications..

All of a sudden,, there was a loud

bang.. When I looked up........

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AA She said,, ““How am I to do it?”?”

I said,, ““Figure it out.. This is what

we pay you for.”.”

She said, “, “This is beyond what I

was hired to do.”.”

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QQ What was the conversation??

AA He said, “, “Get out.”.”

She said, “, “I think not.”.”

He said, “, “You have to.. This is not

working out.”.”

She said, “, “I am staying.”.”

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QQ What was the conversation??

AA He said, “, “Get out.”.”

She said, “, “I think not.”.”

““You have to.. This is not working

out.”.”

““I am staying.”.”

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THE COURT:THE COURT: Overruled..

Please do not answer..

Reframe your question,, Counsel..

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AA I believe it was on the 15th that

the ----

Would you read that question

back to me,, please..

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Periods and commas go

INSIDE quotes with NO

exceptions

in the entire language.

RuleRule

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 I read the article ““Protect Your

Heart.”.”

 It ends with ““734.”.”

 Mark that with the letter ““X.”.”

 I think he used the term ““routine.”.”

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 He overused the word ““fabulous,”,”

and it consequently lost its meaning..

 When you put ““AW,”,” are you saying

that is where you were standing??

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Colons and semicolons go

OUTSIDE

quotes with NO exceptions

in the entire language.

RuleRule

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 The boss described you as ““as dumb

as a box of rocks”;”; right??

 This is marked ““Receipts”;”; this is

marked ““Disbursements.”.”

 I read it in the article ““New Scenes”:”:

““This technology will change....”....”

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Interrogs and exclamation

marks go in or out

depending on...

RuleRule

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The first word of a quote is

capped if it is a complete

sentence or if it stands for a

complete thought.

RuleRule

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AA The boss is never wrong..

QQ What do you mean by ““The

boss is never wrong”?”?

QQ What do you mean by ““never

wrong”?”?

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AA He was doing close to 60..

QQ What do you mean by ““He was

doing close to 60”?”?

QQ What do you mean by ““close to

60”?”?

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QQ How far away was it??

AA Pretty well over two miles..

QQ What do you mean by ““Pretty

well over two miles”?”?

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QQ How far away was it??

AA Pretty well over two miles..

QQ What do you mean by ““over two

miles”?”?

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The first word and the last

word of all titles are capped.

Cap all other words except

 short prepositions

 short conjunctions

 articles

a

,

an

, and

the

RuleRule

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 ““A Final Earthquake Report for the

Home of Lisa and Todd Morgan””

 ““Crimes Against Humanity””

 ““What Is He Headed For?”?”

 ““Is He a Communist or Not?”?”

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Italics?Italics?

UnderliningUnderlining??

ALL CAPSALL CAPS

“Quotes?”“Quotes?”

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 It occurred sometime during the

filming of ““The Help.”.”

 It occurred sometime during the

filming of

The Help

..

 It occurred sometime during the

filming of THE HELP..

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A Brief MomentA Brief Moment

with thewith the

Rules in Formal EnglishRules in Formal English

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IN ENGLISH

Italics/underlining for the

names of longer works.

Quotes for the names of

shorter works.

RuleRule

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 My all-time favorite book is

Gone with the Wind

..

 The chapter I refer to is

““Congenital Bone Deformities.”.”

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 His day began with a cup of coffee

and

The Wall Street Journal

..

 He always quoted the article entitled

““Why Severance Pay Should Be

Withheld.”.”

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 To impress her,, he tried to score

tickets to

The Producers

..

 The lawsuit involved a dispute over

who wrote the lyrics to ““My One

True Love.”.”

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 I don’t know the word in English,, but

in Spanish it’s ““regatear.”.”

 ““Callate”” was the word he used over

and over..

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AA

Callate

was the word he used

over and over..

AA ““Callate”” was the word he used

over and over..

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AA C’est la guerre..

AA ((Witness spoke in French..))

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What If We Don’t ShareWhat If We Don’t Share

the Alphabet?the Alphabet?

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AA SAI SOU (phonetic)..

AA (Witness spoke in Chinese..)

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TIME OUT:TIME OUT:

How Do You PronounceHow Do You Pronounce

That?That?

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QQ Is that Reiss or Reiss??

AA Reiss..

QQ Okay.. Reiss..

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QQ Is that Reiss or Reiss

((pronouncing))??

QQ Is that ““Reiss”” or ““Reiss”” ((as

pronounced))??

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QQ Is that RICE or REESE

((phonetic)?)?

QQ Is that ““RICE”” or ““REESE”?”?

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Sic translates “as in the

original.”

It is used to point out a

mistake.

RuleRule

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 “The chief engineer,, Headlund [sic],,

was given….”….”

 Is the most recent occurrence on

June 31 [sic] further evidence of…?…?

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Let’s Tread Lightly:Let’s Tread Lightly:

Can [verbatim] BeCan [verbatim] Be

An Alternate forAn Alternate for

[sic]?[sic]?

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QQ Mrs. Wakefield,, did you…?…?

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QQ Mrs. Wakeman, did you…?…?

QQ Mrs. Wakefield [verbatim],, did

you…?…?

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QQ How it is spelled??

AA Z-o-c-e-r..

MR. RAY:MR. RAY: I believe it is -o-r..

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QQ How is it spelled??

AA Z-o-c-e-r [verbatim]..

QQ When was it prescribed??

AA Right after the blood test..

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

goverment



suppose to



athelete



prespiration



incidently



hinderance

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

pacifically



ax



nucular



supposively



bof

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 I just want to be considerated..

 She was acting obliviated..

 We were looking for a feeling of

usness in the company..

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 I just want to be ““considerated.”.”

 She was acting ““obliviated.”.”

 We were looking for a feeling of

““usness”” in the company..

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 He rolled the doctor across

the page..

 When you were acting,, did you hire

anyone in the position of

administrative assistant??

 He did a good job at horse..

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 He rolled the ““doctor”” across

the page..

 When you were ““acting,”,” did you hire

anyone in the position of

administrative assistant??

 He did a good job at ““horse.”.”

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 What do you mean by

““approximately”?”?

 When you use ““approximately,”,” what

do you mean??

 You used the word ““approximately.”.”

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IN ENGLISH,

words used as words are

italicized/underlined.

IN REPORTING,

words used as words are

quoted.

RuleRule

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 When you say ““ripped,”,” what

do you mean??

 You keep using ““high flying.”.”

 Please define ““Charcot foot”” for us,,

Doctor..

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 What do you mean by ““up against”?”?

 The document has several references

to ““estimates.”.”

 I see the words ““not applicable”” used

here frequently..

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 Put the initials ““RJM”” in the blank..

 Put an ““X”” next to the appropriate

location..

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 Please add an ““X.”.”

 Put X’’s there..

 Put Xs there..

 Put ““X””s there..

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 Please add an

X

..

 Put

X

’’s there..

 Put

X

s there..

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Open QuotesOpen Quotes ––

Close Them at the EndClose Them at the End

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QQ I am going to read from the

report that was submitted::

““The company intends

to make restitution in.….…

““Several thousand dollars is.….…

““We will initiate this

action on February 15.”.”

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What to Quote?What to Quote?

andand

What About That Comma?What About That Comma?

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 It says ““Debits.”.”

 It states ““Patient entered in a

comatose state.”.”

 It reads ““There were two options.”.”

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 There is a column marked ““Sales.”.”

 It says “…“…in the late afternoon of

August 5,, the patient….”….”

 It reads “…“…the outer edge of the

patellar tendon.”.”

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AA I set the meeting for May 12 to

discuss the allegations and charges..

QQ When you say “…“…for May 12……

allegations and charges,”,” I assume you

were aware of what those were at that

time??

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QQ It states that

““ His expectations were such

that….”….”

QQ What I am referring to is

““The bank will reimburse you

to the extent….”….”

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Changed the Word?Changed the Word?

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QQ Your email reads ““I need to

look into this before it goes further.”.”

When you wrote that you

““need to look into this,”,” what did you

mean??

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What If It Is JustWhat If It Is Just

NOT Close?NOT Close?

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QQ I am going to read from the

report that was submitted::

(Reading) The company

expects to make restitution

for….….

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DefinitionDefinition

Discourse

is a conversation. For

punctuation purposes,

discourse

is relating a conversation that

has taken place.

The form is often something

similar to “he said/she said.”

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LeadLead--In WordsIn Words

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We often get in and out of

quotes with words that indicate

something has been said:

he said

,

she stated

, et cetera.

We will call these “lead-in words.”

They lead us into discourse.

DiscussionDiscussion

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Always separate lead-in words

from the quoted material with

punctuation in discourse.

RuleRule

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 He said, “, “I am reporting the

disturbance at this time.”.”

 I replied, “, “There is no way I can be

there in time.”.”

 ““Get to the nearest shelter,”,” she

exclaimed..

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“Modern” Lead“Modern” Lead--In WordsIn Words

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 I went,, ““You have to go with me.”.”

 She goes,, ““I have to do it.”.”

 I’m all,, ““He had better be here.”.”

 He’s,, like,, ““Don’t bother me.”.”

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Interrogs and exclamation marks

go in or out depending…

RuleRule

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You look first at the quoted

material. If the question is being

asked within the quoted material,

the interrog goes inside.

RuleRule

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 He said, “, “Did you receive the invoice

from them in a timely manner?”?”

 I asked, “, “How far are you willing to

go in your support of her?”?”

 ““Are you going to finish today?”?” he

inquired..

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If both the quote and the lead-in

words are asking a question, the

interrog still goes inside because

the quote is still asking a

question.

RuleRule

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 Did he say to you,, ““How could you do

this to me?”?”

 Did you reply, “, “How much is this

going to cost me this time?”?”

 ““Where are you going?”?” did he ask??

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If the quoted material is not

asking a question but the lead-in

words are asking a question, then

the interrog goes outside the

quotes.

RuleRule

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 Did he say,, ““I am not involved in this

in any way”?”?

 Did you reply,, ““Get me the numbers

as soon as possible”?”?

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If you have punctuation before

the quote, you must have

punctuation to get out of the

quote.

RuleRule

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 He said, “, “I am reporting the

disturbance at this time,”,” and went

immediately to the boss..

 I replied, “, “Is there any way to get it

now?”?” explaining my situation to

them..

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THE APP

If you don’t have a QR reader,

download “QR Scanner” by Grip’d for

the iPhone;

go to www.qrdroid.com for the Adroid.

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If you want a text message to

come to your phone for new

blog posts, opt in by texting

txtrs MargieWW TO 368638.

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Single quotes are NEVER

correct unless they are inside of

double quotes.

RuleRule

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The rules about periods and

commas, colons and

semicolons are the same for

single quotes as they are for

double quotes.

RuleRule

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If you are looking for where the

interrog goes, you look inside the

single quotes first, then inside

the double quotes, then

at the lead-in words.

RuleRule

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 He said, “, “I read the report entitled

‘‘Are Risks Rising?’”?’”

 He said, “, “Did you read the report

entitled ‘‘Are Risks Rising?’”?’”

 Did he say, “, “Did you read the report

entitled ‘‘Are Risks Rising?’”?’”

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 He said, “, “Did you read the report

entitled ‘‘Earthquake Losses’?”’?”

 Did he say, “, “Did you read the report

entitled ‘‘Earthquake Losses’?”’?”

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 He said, “, “I read the report entitled

‘‘Earthquake Losses.’”.’”

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Without LeadWithout Lead--In WordsIn Words

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 He said something like ““Don’t leave

until I return”” and walked out the

door..

 She was referring to the statement

““John doesn’t want to be involved””

and wanted to know why he was..

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 He ended with the words ““I hold him

responsible.”.”

 He ended with the words ““Did you

hold him responsible?”?”

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 Did he end with the words ““Did you

hold him responsible?”?”

 Did he end with the words ““I hold

him responsible”?”?

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 He referred to ““Help me with this,”,”

pointing to the large box he was

trying to move..

 She was asking about ““When did he

leave?”?” and persisted until I

answered..

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 He told me to come in and that ““I

will help you figure this out.”.”

 She believed that he was a

permanent employee and ““You have

to follow these rules.”.”

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Stringing Them TogetherStringing Them Together

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 He said things like ““I need to get out

of here”” and ““I have to get this done.”.”

 Did he say things like ““I need to get

out of here”” and ““I have to get this

done”?”?

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 He said things like ““I need to get this

done”” and ““What are you going to do

to help me?”?” and ““I need to get out

of here.”.”

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 Did he say things like ““I need to get

this done”” and ““What are you going

to do to help me?”?” and ““I need to get

out of here”?”?

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mww@margieholdscourt.commww@margieholdscourt.com