Sometimes I quote in my writing sombody else, but I do not know the exact words the other person had used. What is a concise and positive(*) phrase to describe this? I found different options on the net:
- I quote keeping with the sense: "…"
- I quote in spirit: "…"
- I quote conceptually: "…"
or even:
- I paraphrase: "…"
However I am not sure what's the normal/standard way to phrase this.
(*) With positive I mean I want to avoid a phrase like I quote not to the letter or I quote not word for word.
Best Answer
My suggestion:
This doesn't have either a positive or a negative connotation, just that you don't remember it precisely and will attempt to reconstruct it as best you can from memory.