5 B. Legal cautions

• Choose that or quote: "The witness said that…" (paraphrase) vs "The witness said, 'I was at home'" (verbatim, in quotation marks). Evidence law distinguishes paraphrase from quotation; transcripts must be verbatim. • Hearsay link: reported speech is grammatically simple but evidentially dangerous — a report of an out-of-court statement is hearsay unless an exception applies. Grammar reports; the law of evidence decides what the report is worth. • Reporting verbs are argumentative tools: "The defendant claims…" (sceptical) vs "The defendant submits…" (neutral) vs "The court held…" (authoritative).