A quotative ( abbreviated QUOT ) is a grammatical device to mark quoted speech in some languages .
As such device preserves the grammatical person and tense of the original utterance rather than adjusting device as would be the case with reported speech .
A quotative ( abbreviated QUOT ) is a grammatical device to mark quoted speech in some languages , and as such it preserves the grammatical person and tense of the original utterance rather than adjusting it as would be the case with reported speech .