Another discussion on how to quote athletes

dirtybird · Mar 10, 2012

Johnny Dangerously said:

mediaguy said:

I have no problem correcting noun-verb agreement and syntax in a direct quote. I will change "We got a lot of big games left" to "We've got" and such. If it's someone in a prominent position, where incorrect syntax is a poor reflection of their position, then you can keep it in place, but I have no problem making minor changes to the grammar/syntax of a high school or college athlete.

Are you purists including every "um" and "you know" and half-sentence stammer in your direct quotes? Do you think your readers are better for it?
Click to expand...

I'm gonna (er, going to) revive this thread to ask about "We got." I almost never see "We've got" or "I've got" in copy anymore. It's always "We got" and "I got," which is how it sounds, and really, how people are actually saying it.

I got this.
We got to focus on Saturday, not next week.
You got to think that way if you want to win.

How many people here change those to "I've got" and "We've got" nowadays? I'm guessing not many. And I'm curious to know what SF thinks about this one (I know he'll understand why), but I throw it to the board rather than PM him, because I'm curious about how others handle this one.
Click to expand...

I do change that. I go with the assumption people often sort of slur the 've into we or I. But that's just me.

KYSportsWriter · Mar 10, 2012

Johnny Dangerously said:

mediaguy said:

I have no problem correcting noun-verb agreement and syntax in a direct quote. I will change "We got a lot of big games left" to "We've got" and such. If it's someone in a prominent position, where incorrect syntax is a poor reflection of their position, then you can keep it in place, but I have no problem making minor changes to the grammar/syntax of a high school or college athlete.

Are you purists including every "um" and "you know" and half-sentence stammer in your direct quotes? Do you think your readers are better for it?
Click to expand...

I'm gonna (er, going to) revive this thread to ask about "We got." I almost never see "We've got" or "I've got" in copy anymore. It's always "We got" and "I got," which is how it sounds, and really, how people are actually saying it.

I got this.
We got to focus on Saturday, not next week.
You got to think that way if you want to win.

How many people here change those to "I've got" and "We've got" nowadays? I'm guessing not many. And I'm curious to know what SF thinks about this one (I know he'll understand why), but I throw it to the board rather than PM him, because I'm curious about how others handle this one.
Click to expand...

People don't have a problem with me cleaning up their grammar, so I change it anytime I see it in my copy.

SFIND · Mar 12, 2012

da man said:

Some Guy said:

On another points: Please note that I didn't say you should never, ever, ever use gotta or gonna in quotes. I was responding to someone who said they're desk usually changes those words, and I said I had no problem with it, because they weren't, you know, words.

In some cases, it makes sense to pepper your quotes with "gonnas" ... but I don't think it's smart writing to say we always, always, always have to go with gonna. I think that's just silly, for reasons I've outlined above.
Click to expand...

OK, then I'll say it. You should never, ever use gotta or gonna. That's not what the person said because there are no such words. He (or she) said got to and going to and slurred his (or her) words together. Whoever said gotta and gonna are different from matters of pronunciation is wrong. That's exactly what they are. The person is saying got to and going to but pronouncing them incorrectly -- too fast and running them together. If you use gotta and gonna (and its vicious cousin gotcha), you'd better be prepared to drop pretty much every g at the end of -ing words or write 'em instead of them almost every time, because that's the exact same thing. And when you start doing that, yes, you wind up making people look stupid in print. And that is not "cleaning up" a quote because you are simply writing what the person actually said, just as if you wrote "doing" instead of "doin'."

At our shop, there is an ironclad rule that I am totally on board with: no gonnas or gottas. We had a writer here for a short time who invariably had at least one of those in just about every story. He was here less than a year but I cannot begin to count the number of times I called him to explain that at this paper, gonna and gotta do not get into print. That's our style. Then he'd put two more in his next story.
Click to expand...

Amen!

Ace · Mar 12, 2012

KYSportsWriter said:

Johnny Dangerously said:

mediaguy said:

I have no problem correcting noun-verb agreement and syntax in a direct quote. I will change "We got a lot of big games left" to "We've got" and such. If it's someone in a prominent position, where incorrect syntax is a poor reflection of their position, then you can keep it in place, but I have no problem making minor changes to the grammar/syntax of a high school or college athlete.

Are you purists including every "um" and "you know" and half-sentence stammer in your direct quotes? Do you think your readers are better for it?
Click to expand...

I'm gonna (er, going to) revive this thread to ask about "We got." I almost never see "We've got" or "I've got" in copy anymore. It's always "We got" and "I got," which is how it sounds, and really, how people are actually saying it.

I got this.
We got to focus on Saturday, not next week.
You got to think that way if you want to win.

How many people here change those to "I've got" and "We've got" nowadays? I'm guessing not many. And I'm curious to know what SF thinks about this one (I know he'll understand why), but I throw it to the board rather than PM him, because I'm curious about how others handle this one.
Click to expand...

People don't have a problem with me cleaning up their grammar, so I change it anytime I see it in my copy.
Click to expand...

I think that's a bit strong. Just because people don't complain or are appreciative doesn't mean it's always the right thing to do.

However, I tend to assume that if a teacher or someone who should know has a noun-verb agreement problem that I maybe heard it wrong and would rather err on the side of caution than print something that makes them sound dumb.

Now if it's someone who noodles catfish for a living, they can be as colorful as they want.

Stitch · Mar 12, 2012

It's OK to clean up quotes as long as you're doing it to be on the source's good side.

Log in or Sign up

Another discussion on how to quote athletes

dirtybird Well-Known Member

KYSportsWriter Well-Known Member

SFIND Well-Known Member

Ace Well-Known Member

Stitch Active Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Another discussion on how to quote athletes

dirtybird Well-Known Member

KYSportsWriter Well-Known Member

SFIND Well-Known Member

Ace Well-Known Member

Stitch Active Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches