General Question

flo's avatar

How do you write "Mary said that Bob said that kelly said that ..." and on and on?

Asked by flo (13313points) March 29th, 2016

It’s not second hand information it’s way more. So let’s say for legal purposes if you want to be more specific than “it’s word of mouth.”

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3 Answers

elbanditoroso's avatar

I wouldn’t phrase it or try to use quotation marks. I’d phrase it more or less as this:

“I heard from Mary <blah>; she had heard it from someone else”

or

“Because this information came through several people, it can’t be trusted 100%, but this is what I learned:” <blah>

zenvelo's avatar

Legally, it is hearsay.

If I were writing a story or a recap of a conversation, I would phrase it as, “this is a chain of conversations, from Kelly to Bob, to Mary, that last night Flo…”

And really, it is only second hand information. It’s like the old telephone game.

flo's avatar

Thank you both. I will have to get back as soon as I formulate what I mean.

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