diff --git a/db/load.go b/db/load.go
index 20953a7..9a3b069 100644
--- a/db/load.go
+++ b/db/load.go
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func Load(ts graph.TripleStore, cfg *config.Config, path string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	block := make([]*quad.Quad, 0, cfg.LoadSize)
+	block := make([]quad.Quad, 0, cfg.LoadSize)
 	for {
 		t, err := dec.Unmarshal()
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/db/repl.go b/db/repl.go
index c1bb5ea..730d59d 100644
--- a/db/repl.go
+++ b/db/repl.go
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ func Repl(ts graph.TripleStore, queryLanguage string, cfg *config.Config) error
 		if bytes.HasPrefix(line, []byte(":a")) {
 			var tripleStmt = line[3:]
 			triple, err := cquads.Parse(string(tripleStmt))
-			if triple == nil {
+			if !triple.IsValid() {
 				if err != nil {
 					fmt.Printf("not a valid triple: %v\n", err)
 				}
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ func Repl(ts graph.TripleStore, queryLanguage string, cfg *config.Config) error
 		if bytes.HasPrefix(line, []byte(":d")) {
 			var tripleStmt = line[3:]
 			triple, err := cquads.Parse(string(tripleStmt))
-			if triple == nil {
+			if !triple.IsValid() {
 				if err != nil {
 					fmt.Printf("not a valid triple: %v\n", err)
 				}
diff --git a/graph/iterator/mock_ts_test.go b/graph/iterator/mock_ts_test.go
index 7332a8f..08483c7 100644
--- a/graph/iterator/mock_ts_test.go
+++ b/graph/iterator/mock_ts_test.go
@@ -36,11 +36,11 @@ func (qs *store) ValueOf(s string) graph.Value {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (qs *store) AddTriple(*quad.Quad) {}
+func (qs *store) AddTriple(quad.Quad) {}
 
-func (qs *store) AddTripleSet([]*quad.Quad) {}
+func (qs *store) AddTripleSet([]quad.Quad) {}
 
-func (qs *store) Quad(graph.Value) *quad.Quad { return &quad.Quad{} }
+func (qs *store) Quad(graph.Value) quad.Quad { return quad.Quad{} }
 
 func (qs *store) TripleIterator(d quad.Direction, i graph.Value) graph.Iterator {
 	return qs.iter
@@ -74,4 +74,4 @@ func (qs *store) Close() {}
 
 func (qs *store) TripleDirection(graph.Value, quad.Direction) graph.Value { return 0 }
 
-func (qs *store) RemoveTriple(t *quad.Quad) {}
+func (qs *store) RemoveTriple(t quad.Quad) {}
diff --git a/graph/leveldb/leveldb_test.go b/graph/leveldb/leveldb_test.go
index 0e6772a..956a5e4 100644
--- a/graph/leveldb/leveldb_test.go
+++ b/graph/leveldb/leveldb_test.go
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/google/cayley/quad"
 )
 
-func makeTripleSet() []*quad.Quad {
-	tripleSet := []*quad.Quad{
+func makeTripleSet() []quad.Quad {
+	tripleSet := []quad.Quad{
 		{"A", "follows", "B", ""},
 		{"C", "follows", "B", ""},
 		{"C", "follows", "D", ""},
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ func makeTripleSet() []*quad.Quad {
 	return tripleSet
 }
 
-func iteratedTriples(qs graph.TripleStore, it graph.Iterator) []*quad.Quad {
+func iteratedTriples(qs graph.TripleStore, it graph.Iterator) []quad.Quad {
 	var res ordered
 	for {
 		val, ok := graph.Next(it)
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ func iteratedTriples(qs graph.TripleStore, it graph.Iterator) []*quad.Quad {
 	return res
 }
 
-type ordered []*quad.Quad
+type ordered []quad.Quad
 
 func (o ordered) Len() int { return len(o) }
 func (o ordered) Less(i, j int) bool {
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ func TestLoadDatabase(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Error("Failed to create leveldb TripleStore.")
 	}
 
-	qs.AddTriple(&quad.Quad{"Something", "points_to", "Something Else", "context"})
+	qs.AddTriple(quad.Quad{"Something", "points_to", "Something Else", "context"})
 	for _, pq := range []string{"Something", "points_to", "Something Else", "context"} {
 		if got := qs.NameOf(qs.ValueOf(pq)); got != pq {
 			t.Errorf("Failed to roundtrip %q, got:%q expect:%q", pq, got, pq)
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ func TestLoadDatabase(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("Unexpected triplestore size, got:%d expect:5", s)
 	}
 
-	qs.RemoveTriple(&quad.Quad{"A", "follows", "B", ""})
+	qs.RemoveTriple(quad.Quad{"A", "follows", "B", ""})
 	if s := qs.Size(); s != 10 {
 		t.Errorf("Unexpected triplestore size after RemoveTriple, got:%d expect:10", s)
 	}
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ func TestSetIterator(t *testing.T) {
 
 	qs.AddTripleSet(makeTripleSet())
 
-	expect := []*quad.Quad{
+	expect := []quad.Quad{
 		{"C", "follows", "B", ""},
 		{"C", "follows", "D", ""},
 	}
@@ -326,7 +326,7 @@ func TestSetIterator(t *testing.T) {
 	// Object iterator.
 	it = qs.TripleIterator(quad.Object, qs.ValueOf("F"))
 
-	expect = []*quad.Quad{
+	expect = []quad.Quad{
 		{"B", "follows", "F", ""},
 		{"E", "follows", "F", ""},
 	}
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ func TestSetIterator(t *testing.T) {
 	and.AddSubIterator(qs.TripleIterator(quad.Subject, qs.ValueOf("B")))
 	and.AddSubIterator(it)
 
-	expect = []*quad.Quad{
+	expect = []quad.Quad{
 		{"B", "follows", "F", ""},
 	}
 	if got := iteratedTriples(qs, and); !reflect.DeepEqual(got, expect) {
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ func TestSetIterator(t *testing.T) {
 	// Predicate iterator.
 	it = qs.TripleIterator(quad.Predicate, qs.ValueOf("status"))
 
-	expect = []*quad.Quad{
+	expect = []quad.Quad{
 		{"B", "status", "cool", "status_graph"},
 		{"D", "status", "cool", "status_graph"},
 		{"G", "status", "cool", "status_graph"},
@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@ func TestSetIterator(t *testing.T) {
 	// Label iterator.
 	it = qs.TripleIterator(quad.Label, qs.ValueOf("status_graph"))
 
-	expect = []*quad.Quad{
+	expect = []quad.Quad{
 		{"B", "status", "cool", "status_graph"},
 		{"D", "status", "cool", "status_graph"},
 		{"G", "status", "cool", "status_graph"},
@@ -378,7 +378,7 @@ func TestSetIterator(t *testing.T) {
 	and.AddSubIterator(qs.TripleIterator(quad.Subject, qs.ValueOf("B")))
 	and.AddSubIterator(it)
 
-	expect = []*quad.Quad{
+	expect = []quad.Quad{
 		{"B", "status", "cool", "status_graph"},
 	}
 	if got := iteratedTriples(qs, and); !reflect.DeepEqual(got, expect) {
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ func TestSetIterator(t *testing.T) {
 	and.AddSubIterator(it)
 	and.AddSubIterator(qs.TripleIterator(quad.Subject, qs.ValueOf("B")))
 
-	expect = []*quad.Quad{
+	expect = []quad.Quad{
 		{"B", "status", "cool", "status_graph"},
 	}
 	if got := iteratedTriples(qs, and); !reflect.DeepEqual(got, expect) {
diff --git a/graph/leveldb/triplestore.go b/graph/leveldb/triplestore.go
index 8092d96..600b360 100644
--- a/graph/leveldb/triplestore.go
+++ b/graph/leveldb/triplestore.go
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) Size() int64 {
 	return qs.size
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) createKeyFor(d [3]quad.Direction, triple *quad.Quad) []byte {
+func (qs *TripleStore) createKeyFor(d [3]quad.Direction, triple quad.Quad) []byte {
 	key := make([]byte, 0, 2+(qs.hasher.Size()*3))
 	// TODO(kortschak) Remove dependence on String() method.
 	key = append(key, []byte{d[0].Prefix(), d[1].Prefix()}...)
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) createKeyFor(d [3]quad.Direction, triple *quad.Quad) []by
 	return key
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) createProvKeyFor(d [3]quad.Direction, triple *quad.Quad) []byte {
+func (qs *TripleStore) createProvKeyFor(d [3]quad.Direction, triple quad.Quad) []byte {
 	key := make([]byte, 0, 2+(qs.hasher.Size()*4))
 	// TODO(kortschak) Remove dependence on String() method.
 	key = append(key, []byte{quad.Label.Prefix(), d[0].Prefix()}...)
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) createValueKeyFor(s string) []byte {
 	return key
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) AddTriple(t *quad.Quad) {
+func (qs *TripleStore) AddTriple(t quad.Quad) {
 	batch := &leveldb.Batch{}
 	qs.buildWrite(batch, t)
 	err := qs.db.Write(batch, qs.writeopts)
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ var (
 	pso = [3]quad.Direction{quad.Predicate, quad.Subject, quad.Object}
 )
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) RemoveTriple(t *quad.Quad) {
+func (qs *TripleStore) RemoveTriple(t quad.Quad) {
 	_, err := qs.db.Get(qs.createKeyFor(spo, t), qs.readopts)
 	if err != nil && err != leveldb.ErrNotFound {
 		glog.Error("Couldn't access DB to confirm deletion")
@@ -192,8 +192,8 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) RemoveTriple(t *quad.Quad) {
 	qs.size--
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) buildTripleWrite(batch *leveldb.Batch, t *quad.Quad) {
-	bytes, err := json.Marshal(*t)
+func (qs *TripleStore) buildTripleWrite(batch *leveldb.Batch, t quad.Quad) {
+	bytes, err := json.Marshal(t)
 	if err != nil {
 		glog.Errorf("Couldn't write to buffer for triple %s: %s", t, err)
 		return
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) buildTripleWrite(batch *leveldb.Batch, t *quad.Quad) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) buildWrite(batch *leveldb.Batch, t *quad.Quad) {
+func (qs *TripleStore) buildWrite(batch *leveldb.Batch, t quad.Quad) {
 	qs.buildTripleWrite(batch, t)
 	qs.UpdateValueKeyBy(t.Get(quad.Subject), 1, nil)
 	qs.UpdateValueKeyBy(t.Get(quad.Predicate), 1, nil)
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) UpdateValueKeyBy(name string, amount int, batch *leveldb.
 	}
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) AddTripleSet(t_s []*quad.Quad) {
+func (qs *TripleStore) AddTripleSet(t_s []quad.Quad) {
 	batch := &leveldb.Batch{}
 	newTs := len(t_s)
 	resizeMap := make(map[string]int)
@@ -306,23 +306,23 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) Close() {
 	qs.open = false
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) Quad(k graph.Value) *quad.Quad {
+func (qs *TripleStore) Quad(k graph.Value) quad.Quad {
 	var triple quad.Quad
 	b, err := qs.db.Get(k.([]byte), qs.readopts)
 	if err != nil && err != leveldb.ErrNotFound {
 		glog.Error("Error: couldn't get triple from DB.")
-		return &quad.Quad{}
+		return quad.Quad{}
 	}
 	if err == leveldb.ErrNotFound {
 		// No harm, no foul.
-		return &quad.Quad{}
+		return quad.Quad{}
 	}
 	err = json.Unmarshal(b, &triple)
 	if err != nil {
 		glog.Error("Error: couldn't reconstruct triple.")
-		return &quad.Quad{}
+		return quad.Quad{}
 	}
-	return &triple
+	return triple
 }
 
 func (qs *TripleStore) convertStringToByteHash(s string) []byte {
diff --git a/graph/memstore/triplestore.go b/graph/memstore/triplestore.go
index 23eb11a..c364f28 100644
--- a/graph/memstore/triplestore.go
+++ b/graph/memstore/triplestore.go
@@ -101,13 +101,13 @@ func newTripleStore() *TripleStore {
 	return &ts
 }
 
-func (ts *TripleStore) AddTripleSet(triples []*quad.Quad) {
+func (ts *TripleStore) AddTripleSet(triples []quad.Quad) {
 	for _, t := range triples {
 		ts.AddTriple(t)
 	}
 }
 
-func (ts *TripleStore) tripleExists(t *quad.Quad) (bool, int64) {
+func (ts *TripleStore) tripleExists(t quad.Quad) (bool, int64) {
 	smallest := -1
 	var smallest_tree *llrb.LLRB
 	for d := quad.Subject; d <= quad.Label; d++ {
@@ -137,19 +137,19 @@ func (ts *TripleStore) tripleExists(t *quad.Quad) (bool, int64) {
 		if !ok {
 			break
 		}
-		if t.Equals(&ts.triples[val.(int64)]) {
+		if t.Equals(ts.triples[val.(int64)]) {
 			return true, val.(int64)
 		}
 	}
 	return false, 0
 }
 
-func (ts *TripleStore) AddTriple(t *quad.Quad) {
+func (ts *TripleStore) AddTriple(t quad.Quad) {
 	if exists, _ := ts.tripleExists(t); exists {
 		return
 	}
 	var tripleID int64
-	ts.triples = append(ts.triples, *t)
+	ts.triples = append(ts.triples, t)
 	tripleID = ts.tripleIdCounter
 	ts.size++
 	ts.tripleIdCounter++
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ func (ts *TripleStore) AddTriple(t *quad.Quad) {
 	// TODO(barakmich): Add VIP indexing
 }
 
-func (ts *TripleStore) RemoveTriple(t *quad.Quad) {
+func (ts *TripleStore) RemoveTriple(t quad.Quad) {
 	var tripleID int64
 	var exists bool
 	tripleID = 0
@@ -224,8 +224,8 @@ func (ts *TripleStore) RemoveTriple(t *quad.Quad) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (ts *TripleStore) Quad(index graph.Value) *quad.Quad {
-	return &ts.triples[index.(int64)]
+func (ts *TripleStore) Quad(index graph.Value) quad.Quad {
+	return ts.triples[index.(int64)]
 }
 
 func (ts *TripleStore) TripleIterator(d quad.Direction, value graph.Value) graph.Iterator {
diff --git a/graph/memstore/triplestore_test.go b/graph/memstore/triplestore_test.go
index 44c43b4..1080b7e 100644
--- a/graph/memstore/triplestore_test.go
+++ b/graph/memstore/triplestore_test.go
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ import (
 //          \-->|#D#|------------->+---+
 //              +---+
 //
-var simpleGraph = []*quad.Quad{
+var simpleGraph = []quad.Quad{
 	{"A", "follows", "B", ""},
 	{"C", "follows", "B", ""},
 	{"C", "follows", "D", ""},
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ var simpleGraph = []*quad.Quad{
 	{"G", "status", "cool", "status_graph"},
 }
 
-func makeTestStore(data []*quad.Quad) (*TripleStore, []pair) {
+func makeTestStore(data []quad.Quad) (*TripleStore, []pair) {
 	seen := make(map[string]struct{})
 	ts := newTripleStore()
 	var (
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ func TestLinksToOptimization(t *testing.T) {
 func TestRemoveTriple(t *testing.T) {
 	ts, _ := makeTestStore(simpleGraph)
 
-	ts.RemoveTriple(&quad.Quad{"E", "follows", "F", ""})
+	ts.RemoveTriple(quad.Quad{"E", "follows", "F", ""})
 
 	fixed := ts.FixedIterator()
 	fixed.Add(ts.ValueOf("E"))
diff --git a/graph/mongo/triplestore.go b/graph/mongo/triplestore.go
index 2022e6c..20fea2f 100644
--- a/graph/mongo/triplestore.go
+++ b/graph/mongo/triplestore.go
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ func newTripleStore(addr string, options graph.Options) (graph.TripleStore, erro
 	return &qs, nil
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) getIdForTriple(t *quad.Quad) string {
+func (qs *TripleStore) getIdForTriple(t quad.Quad) string {
 	id := qs.ConvertStringToByteHash(t.Subject)
 	id += qs.ConvertStringToByteHash(t.Predicate)
 	id += qs.ConvertStringToByteHash(t.Object)
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) updateNodeBy(node_name string, inc int) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) writeTriple(t *quad.Quad) bool {
+func (qs *TripleStore) writeTriple(t quad.Quad) bool {
 	tripledoc := bson.M{
 		"_id":       qs.getIdForTriple(t),
 		"Subject":   t.Subject,
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) writeTriple(t *quad.Quad) bool {
 	return true
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) AddTriple(t *quad.Quad) {
+func (qs *TripleStore) AddTriple(t quad.Quad) {
 	_ = qs.writeTriple(t)
 	qs.updateNodeBy(t.Subject, 1)
 	qs.updateNodeBy(t.Predicate, 1)
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) AddTriple(t *quad.Quad) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) AddTripleSet(in []*quad.Quad) {
+func (qs *TripleStore) AddTripleSet(in []quad.Quad) {
 	qs.session.SetSafe(nil)
 	ids := make(map[string]int)
 	for _, t := range in {
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) AddTripleSet(in []*quad.Quad) {
 	qs.session.SetSafe(&mgo.Safe{})
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) RemoveTriple(t *quad.Quad) {
+func (qs *TripleStore) RemoveTriple(t quad.Quad) {
 	err := qs.db.C("triples").RemoveId(qs.getIdForTriple(t))
 	if err == mgo.ErrNotFound {
 		return
@@ -216,13 +216,13 @@ func (qs *TripleStore) RemoveTriple(t *quad.Quad) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (qs *TripleStore) Quad(val graph.Value) *quad.Quad {
+func (qs *TripleStore) Quad(val graph.Value) quad.Quad {
 	var bsonDoc bson.M
 	err := qs.db.C("triples").FindId(val.(string)).One(&bsonDoc)
 	if err != nil {
 		glog.Errorf("Error: Couldn't retrieve triple %s %v", val, err)
 	}
-	return &quad.Quad{
+	return quad.Quad{
 		bsonDoc["Subject"].(string),
 		bsonDoc["Predicate"].(string),
 		bsonDoc["Object"].(string),
diff --git a/graph/triplestore.go b/graph/triplestore.go
index a722db3..c099d47 100644
--- a/graph/triplestore.go
+++ b/graph/triplestore.go
@@ -40,17 +40,17 @@ type Value interface{}
 
 type TripleStore interface {
 	// Add a triple to the store.
-	AddTriple(*quad.Quad)
+	AddTriple(quad.Quad)
 
 	// Add a set of triples to the store, atomically if possible.
-	AddTripleSet([]*quad.Quad)
+	AddTripleSet([]quad.Quad)
 
 	// Removes a triple matching the given one  from the database,
 	// if it exists. Does nothing otherwise.
-	RemoveTriple(*quad.Quad)
+	RemoveTriple(quad.Quad)
 
 	// Given an opaque token, returns the triple for that token from the store.
-	Quad(Value) *quad.Quad
+	Quad(Value) quad.Quad
 
 	// Given a direction and a token, creates an iterator of links which have
 	// that node token in that directional field.
diff --git a/http/http_test.go b/http/http_test.go
index e4d8c30..d56bebf 100644
--- a/http/http_test.go
+++ b/http/http_test.go
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import (
 var parseTests = []struct {
 	message string
 	input   string
-	expect  []*quad.Quad
+	expect  []quad.Quad
 	err     error
 }{
 	{
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ var parseTests = []struct {
 			{"subject": "foo", "predicate": "bar", "object": "baz"},
 			{"subject": "foo", "predicate": "bar", "object": "baz", "label": "graph"}
 		]`,
-		expect: []*quad.Quad{
+		expect: []quad.Quad{
 			{"foo", "bar", "baz", ""},
 			{"foo", "bar", "baz", "graph"},
 		},
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ var parseTests = []struct {
 		input: `[
 			{"subject": "foo", "predicate": "bar", "object": "foo", "something_else": "extra data"}
 		]`,
-		expect: []*quad.Quad{
+		expect: []quad.Quad{
 			{"foo", "bar", "foo", ""},
 		},
 		err: nil,
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ var parseTests = []struct {
 			{"subject": "foo", "predicate": "bar"}
 		]`,
 		expect: nil,
-		err:    fmt.Errorf("Invalid triple at index %d. %v", 0, &quad.Quad{"foo", "bar", "", ""}),
+		err:    fmt.Errorf("Invalid triple at index %d. %v", 0, quad.Quad{"foo", "bar", "", ""}),
 	},
 }
 
diff --git a/http/write.go b/http/write.go
index 7ad205b..f810941 100644
--- a/http/write.go
+++ b/http/write.go
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/google/cayley/quad/nquads"
 )
 
-func ParseJsonToTripleList(jsonBody []byte) ([]*quad.Quad, error) {
-	var tripleList []*quad.Quad
+func ParseJsonToTripleList(jsonBody []byte) ([]quad.Quad, error) {
+	var tripleList []quad.Quad
 	err := json.Unmarshal(jsonBody, &tripleList)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ func (api *Api) ServeV1WriteNQuad(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, params
 	var (
 		n int
 
-		block = make([]*quad.Quad, 0, blockSize)
+		block = make([]quad.Quad, 0, blockSize)
 	)
 	for {
 		t, err := dec.Unmarshal()
diff --git a/quad/cquads/cquads.go b/quad/cquads/cquads.go
index c3355ed..5045a96 100644
--- a/quad/cquads/cquads.go
+++ b/quad/cquads/cquads.go
@@ -34,9 +34,9 @@ import (
 // Parse returns a valid quad.Quad or a non-nil error. Parse does
 // handle comments except where the comment placement does not prevent
 // a complete valid quad.Quad from being defined.
-func Parse(str string) (*quad.Quad, error) {
+func Parse(str string) (quad.Quad, error) {
 	q, err := parse([]rune(str))
-	return &q, err
+	return q, err
 }
 
 // Decoder implements simplified N-Quad document parsing.
@@ -52,14 +52,14 @@ func NewDecoder(r io.Reader) *Decoder {
 }
 
 // Unmarshal returns the next valid N-Quad as a quad.Quad, or an error.
-func (dec *Decoder) Unmarshal() (*quad.Quad, error) {
+func (dec *Decoder) Unmarshal() (quad.Quad, error) {
 	dec.line = dec.line[:0]
 	var line []byte
 	for {
 		for {
 			l, pre, err := dec.r.ReadLine()
 			if err != nil {
-				return nil, err
+				return quad.Quad{}, err
 			}
 			dec.line = append(dec.line, l...)
 			if !pre {
@@ -73,9 +73,9 @@ func (dec *Decoder) Unmarshal() (*quad.Quad, error) {
 	}
 	triple, err := Parse(string(line))
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse %q: %v", dec.line, err)
+		return quad.Quad{}, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse %q: %v", dec.line, err)
 	}
-	if triple == nil {
+	if !triple.IsValid() {
 		return dec.Unmarshal()
 	}
 	return triple, nil
diff --git a/quad/cquads/cquads_test.go b/quad/cquads/cquads_test.go
index 8c4f3ba..8d12ca7 100644
--- a/quad/cquads/cquads_test.go
+++ b/quad/cquads/cquads_test.go
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ import (
 var testNTriples = []struct {
 	message string
 	input   string
-	expect  *quad.Quad
+	expect  quad.Quad
 	err     error
 }{
 	// Tests from original nquads.
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse simple triples",
 		input:   "this is valid .",
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "this",
 			Predicate: "is",
 			Object:    "valid",
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quoted triples",
 		input:   `this is "valid too" .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "this",
 			Predicate: "is",
 			Object:    "valid too",
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse escaped quoted triples",
 		input:   `he said "\"That's all folks\"" .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "he",
 			Predicate: "said",
 			Object:    `"That's all folks"`,
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse an example real triple",
 		input:   `":/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000010c843c" "name" "George Morris" .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   ":/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000010c843c",
 			Predicate: "name",
 			Object:    "George Morris",
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse a pathologically spaced triple",
 		input:   "foo is \"\\tA big tough\\r\\nDeal\\\\\" .",
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "foo",
 			Predicate: "is",
 			Object:    "\tA big tough\r\nDeal\\",
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse a simple quad",
 		input:   "this is valid quad .",
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "this",
 			Predicate: "is",
 			Object:    "valid",
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse a quoted quad",
 		input:   `this is valid "quad thing" .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "this",
 			Predicate: "is",
 			Object:    "valid",
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse crazy escaped quads",
 		input:   `"\"this" "\"is" "\"valid" "\"quad thing".`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   `"this`,
 			Predicate: `"is`,
 			Object:    `"valid`,
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "handle simple case with comments",
 		input:   "<http://example/s> <http://example/p> <http://example/o> . # comment",
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example/s",
 			Predicate: "http://example/p",
 			Object:    "http://example/o",
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "handle simple case with comments",
 		input:   "<http://example/s> <http://example/p> _:o . # comment",
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example/s",
 			Predicate: "http://example/p",
 			Object:    "_:o",
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "handle simple case with comments",
 		input:   "<http://example/s> <http://example/p> \"o\" . # comment",
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example/s",
 			Predicate: "http://example/p",
 			Object:    "o",
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "handle simple case with comments",
 		input:   "<http://example/s> <http://example/p> \"o\"^^<http://example/dt> . # comment",
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example/s",
 			Predicate: "http://example/p",
 			Object:    `"o"^^<http://example/dt>`,
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "handle simple case with comments",
 		input:   "<http://example/s> <http://example/p> \"o\"@en . # comment",
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example/s",
 			Predicate: "http://example/p",
 			Object:    `"o"@en`,
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with commment",
 		input:   `_:100000 </film/performance/actor> </en/larry_fine_1902> . # example from 30movies`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:100000",
 			Predicate: "/film/performance/actor",
 			Object:    "/en/larry_fine_1902",
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with commment",
 		input:   `_:10011 </film/performance/character> "Tomás de Torquemada" . # example from 30movies with unicode`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:10011",
 			Predicate: "/film/performance/character",
 			Object:    "Tomás de Torquemada",
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with commment",
 		input:   `<http://one.example/subject1> <http://one.example/predicate1> <http://one.example/object1> . # comments here`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://one.example/subject1",
 			Predicate: "http://one.example/predicate1",
 			Object:    "http://one.example/object1",
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with blank subject node, literal object and no comment (1)",
 		input:   `_:subject1 <http://an.example/predicate1> "object1" .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:subject1",
 			Predicate: "http://an.example/predicate1",
 			Object:    "object1",
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with blank subject node, literal object and no comment (2)",
 		input:   `_:subject2 <http://an.example/predicate2> "object2" .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:subject2",
 			Predicate: "http://an.example/predicate2",
 			Object:    "object2",
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with three IRIREFs",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/#spiderman> <http://www.perceive.net/schemas/relationship/enemyOf> <http://example.org/#green-goblin> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/#spiderman",
 			Predicate: "http://www.perceive.net/schemas/relationship/enemyOf",
 			Object:    "http://example.org/#green-goblin",
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with blank node labelled subject and object and IRIREF predicate (1)",
 		input:   `_:alice <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> _:bob .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:alice",
 			Predicate: "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows",
 			Object:    "_:bob",
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with blank node labelled subject and object and IRIREF predicate (2)",
 		input:   `_:bob <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> _:alice .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:bob",
 			Predicate: "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows",
 			Object:    "_:alice",
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with commment",
 		input:   `<http://one.example/subject1> <http://one.example/predicate1> <http://one.example/object1> <http://example.org/graph3> . # comments here`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://one.example/subject1",
 			Predicate: "http://one.example/predicate1",
 			Object:    "http://one.example/object1",
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with blank subject node, literal object, IRIREF predicate and label, and no comment (1)",
 		input:   `_:subject1 <http://an.example/predicate1> "object1" <http://example.org/graph1> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:subject1",
 			Predicate: "http://an.example/predicate1",
 			Object:    "object1",
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with blank subject node, literal object, IRIREF predicate and label, and no comment (2)",
 		input:   `_:subject2 <http://an.example/predicate2> "object2" <http://example.org/graph5> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:subject2",
 			Predicate: "http://an.example/predicate2",
 			Object:    "object2",
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with all IRIREF parts",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/#spiderman> <http://www.perceive.net/schemas/relationship/enemyOf> <http://example.org/#green-goblin> <http://example.org/graphs/spiderman> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/#spiderman",
 			Predicate: "http://www.perceive.net/schemas/relationship/enemyOf",
 			Object:    "http://example.org/#green-goblin",
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with blank node labelled subject and object and IRIREF predicate and label (1)",
 		input:   `_:alice <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> _:bob <http://example.org/graphs/john> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:alice",
 			Predicate: "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows",
 			Object:    "_:bob",
@@ -333,7 +333,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with blank node labelled subject and object and IRIREF predicate and label (2)",
 		input:   `_:bob <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> _:alice <http://example.org/graphs/james> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:bob",
 			Predicate: "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows",
 			Object:    "_:alice",
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with all IRIREF parts",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Person> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob#me",
 			Predicate: "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type",
 			Object:    "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Person",
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with all IRIREF parts",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> <http://example.org/alice#me> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob#me",
 			Predicate: "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows",
 			Object:    "http://example.org/alice#me",
@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with IRIREF schema on literal object",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://schema.org/birthDate> "1990-07-04"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#date> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob#me",
 			Predicate: "http://schema.org/birthDate",
 			Object:    `"1990-07-04"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#date>`,
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse commented IRIREF in triple",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/topic_interest> <http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob#me",
 			Predicate: "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/topic_interest",
 			Object:    "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418",
@@ -390,7 +390,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with literal subject",
 		input:   `<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/title> "Mona Lisa" .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418",
 			Predicate: "http://purl.org/dc/terms/title",
 			Object:    "Mona Lisa",
@@ -401,7 +401,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with all IRIREF parts (1)",
 		input:   `<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator> <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Leonardo_da_Vinci> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418",
 			Predicate: "http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator",
 			Object:    "http://dbpedia.org/resource/Leonardo_da_Vinci",
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with all IRIREF parts (2)",
 		input:   `<http://data.europeana.eu/item/04802/243FA8618938F4117025F17A8B813C5F9AA4D619> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/subject> <http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://data.europeana.eu/item/04802/243FA8618938F4117025F17A8B813C5F9AA4D619",
 			Predicate: "http://purl.org/dc/terms/subject",
 			Object:    "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418",
@@ -425,7 +425,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse commented IRIREF in quad (1)",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Person> <http://example.org/bob> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob#me",
 			Predicate: "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type",
 			Object:    "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Person",
@@ -436,7 +436,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with all IRIREF parts",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> <http://example.org/alice#me> <http://example.org/bob> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob#me",
 			Predicate: "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows",
 			Object:    "http://example.org/alice#me",
@@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with IRIREF schema on literal object",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://schema.org/birthDate> "1990-07-04"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#date> <http://example.org/bob> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob#me",
 			Predicate: "http://schema.org/birthDate",
 			Object:    `"1990-07-04"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#date>`,
@@ -458,7 +458,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse commented IRIREF in quad (2)",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/topic_interest> <http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <http://example.org/bob> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob#me",
 			Predicate: "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/topic_interest",
 			Object:    "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418",
@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse literal object and colon qualified label in quad",
 		input:   `<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/title> "Mona Lisa" <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityData/Q12418> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418",
 			Predicate: "http://purl.org/dc/terms/title",
 			Object:    "Mona Lisa",
@@ -480,7 +480,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse all IRIREF parts with colon qualified label in quad (1)",
 		input:   `<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator> <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Leonardo_da_Vinci> <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityData/Q12418> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418",
 			Predicate: "http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator",
 			Object:    "http://dbpedia.org/resource/Leonardo_da_Vinci",
@@ -491,7 +491,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse all IRIREF parts with colon qualified label in quad (2)",
 		input:   `<http://data.europeana.eu/item/04802/243FA8618938F4117025F17A8B813C5F9AA4D619> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/subject> <http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityData/Q12418> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://data.europeana.eu/item/04802/243FA8618938F4117025F17A8B813C5F9AA4D619",
 			Predicate: "http://purl.org/dc/terms/subject",
 			Object:    "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418",
@@ -502,7 +502,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse all IRIREF parts (quad section - 1)",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/publisher> <http://example.org> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob",
 			Predicate: "http://purl.org/dc/terms/publisher",
 			Object:    "http://example.org",
@@ -513,7 +513,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse all IRIREF parts (quad section - 2)",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/rights> <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob",
 			Predicate: "http://purl.org/dc/terms/rights",
 			Object:    "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/",
@@ -526,31 +526,31 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse empty",
 		input:   ``,
-		expect:  &quad.Quad{},
+		expect:  quad.Quad{},
 		err:     quad.ErrIncomplete,
 	},
 	{
 		message: "parse commented",
 		input:   `# is a comment`,
-		expect:  &quad.Quad{},
+		expect:  quad.Quad{},
 		err:     fmt.Errorf("%v: unexpected rune '#' at 0", quad.ErrInvalid),
 	},
 	{
 		message: "parse commented internal (1)",
 		input:   `is # a comment`,
-		expect:  &quad.Quad{Subject: "is"},
+		expect:  quad.Quad{Subject: "is"},
 		err:     fmt.Errorf("%v: unexpected rune '#' at 3", quad.ErrInvalid),
 	},
 	{
 		message: "parse commented internal (2)",
 		input:   `is a # comment`,
-		expect:  &quad.Quad{Subject: "is", Predicate: "a"},
+		expect:  quad.Quad{Subject: "is", Predicate: "a"},
 		err:     fmt.Errorf("%v: unexpected rune '#' at 5", quad.ErrInvalid),
 	},
 	{
 		message: "parse incomplete quad (1)",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob#me",
 			Predicate: "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type",
 			Object:    "",
@@ -561,7 +561,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse incomplete quad (2)",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "http://example.org/bob#me",
 			Predicate: "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type",
 			Object:    "",
@@ -773,7 +773,7 @@ func TestUnescape(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-var result *quad.Quad
+var result quad.Quad
 
 func BenchmarkParser(b *testing.B) {
 	for n := 0; n < b.N; n++ {
diff --git a/quad/nquads/nquads.go b/quad/nquads/nquads.go
index 5d54e1d..7b27d7e 100644
--- a/quad/nquads/nquads.go
+++ b/quad/nquads/nquads.go
@@ -33,9 +33,9 @@ import (
 // Parse returns a valid quad.Quad or a non-nil error. Parse does
 // handle comments except where the comment placement does not prevent
 // a complete valid quad.Quad from being defined.
-func Parse(str string) (*quad.Quad, error) {
+func Parse(str string) (quad.Quad, error) {
 	q, err := parse([]rune(str))
-	return &q, err
+	return q, err
 }
 
 // Decoder implements N-Quad document parsing according to the RDF
@@ -52,14 +52,14 @@ func NewDecoder(r io.Reader) *Decoder {
 }
 
 // Unmarshal returns the next valid N-Quad as a quad.Quad, or an error.
-func (dec *Decoder) Unmarshal() (*quad.Quad, error) {
+func (dec *Decoder) Unmarshal() (quad.Quad, error) {
 	dec.line = dec.line[:0]
 	var line []byte
 	for {
 		for {
 			l, pre, err := dec.r.ReadLine()
 			if err != nil {
-				return nil, err
+				return quad.Quad{}, err
 			}
 			dec.line = append(dec.line, l...)
 			if !pre {
@@ -73,9 +73,9 @@ func (dec *Decoder) Unmarshal() (*quad.Quad, error) {
 	}
 	triple, err := Parse(string(line))
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse %q: %v", dec.line, err)
+		return quad.Quad{}, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse %q: %v", dec.line, err)
 	}
-	if triple == nil {
+	if !triple.IsValid() {
 		return dec.Unmarshal()
 	}
 	return triple, nil
diff --git a/quad/nquads/nquads_test.go b/quad/nquads/nquads_test.go
index fc7b70a..aaac549 100644
--- a/quad/nquads/nquads_test.go
+++ b/quad/nquads/nquads_test.go
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ import (
 var testNTriples = []struct {
 	message string
 	input   string
-	expect  *quad.Quad
+	expect  quad.Quad
 	err     error
 }{
 	// Tests taken from http://www.w3.org/TR/n-quads/ and http://www.w3.org/TR/n-triples/.
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with commment",
 		input:   `_:100000 </film/performance/actor> </en/larry_fine_1902> . # example from 30movies`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:100000",
 			Predicate: "</film/performance/actor>",
 			Object:    "</en/larry_fine_1902>",
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with commment",
 		input:   `_:10011 </film/performance/character> "Tomás de Torquemada" . # example from 30movies with unicode`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:10011",
 			Predicate: "</film/performance/character>",
 			Object:    `"Tomás de Torquemada"`,
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with commment",
 		input:   `<http://one.example/subject1> <http://one.example/predicate1> <http://one.example/object1> . # comments here`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://one.example/subject1>",
 			Predicate: "<http://one.example/predicate1>",
 			Object:    "<http://one.example/object1>",
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with blank subject node, literal object and no comment (1)",
 		input:   `_:subject1 <http://an.example/predicate1> "object1" .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:subject1",
 			Predicate: "<http://an.example/predicate1>",
 			Object:    `"object1"`,
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with blank subject node, literal object and no comment (2)",
 		input:   `_:subject2 <http://an.example/predicate2> "object2" .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:subject2",
 			Predicate: "<http://an.example/predicate2>",
 			Object:    `"object2"`,
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with three IRIREFs",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/#spiderman> <http://www.perceive.net/schemas/relationship/enemyOf> <http://example.org/#green-goblin> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/#spiderman>",
 			Predicate: "<http://www.perceive.net/schemas/relationship/enemyOf>",
 			Object:    "<http://example.org/#green-goblin>",
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with blank node labelled subject and object and IRIREF predicate (1)",
 		input:   `_:alice <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> _:bob .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:alice",
 			Predicate: "<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows>",
 			Object:    "_:bob",
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with blank node labelled subject and object and IRIREF predicate (2)",
 		input:   `_:bob <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> _:alice .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:bob",
 			Predicate: "<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows>",
 			Object:    "_:alice",
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with commment",
 		input:   `<http://one.example/subject1> <http://one.example/predicate1> <http://one.example/object1> <http://example.org/graph3> . # comments here`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://one.example/subject1>",
 			Predicate: "<http://one.example/predicate1>",
 			Object:    "<http://one.example/object1>",
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with blank subject node, literal object, IRIREF predicate and label, and no comment (1)",
 		input:   `_:subject1 <http://an.example/predicate1> "object1" <http://example.org/graph1> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:subject1",
 			Predicate: "<http://an.example/predicate1>",
 			Object:    `"object1"`,
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with blank subject node, literal object, IRIREF predicate and label, and no comment (2)",
 		input:   `_:subject2 <http://an.example/predicate2> "object2" <http://example.org/graph5> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:subject2",
 			Predicate: "<http://an.example/predicate2>",
 			Object:    `"object2"`,
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with all IRIREF parts",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/#spiderman> <http://www.perceive.net/schemas/relationship/enemyOf> <http://example.org/#green-goblin> <http://example.org/graphs/spiderman> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/#spiderman>",
 			Predicate: "<http://www.perceive.net/schemas/relationship/enemyOf>",
 			Object:    "<http://example.org/#green-goblin>",
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with blank node labelled subject and object and IRIREF predicate and label (1)",
 		input:   `_:alice <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> _:bob <http://example.org/graphs/john> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:alice",
 			Predicate: "<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows>",
 			Object:    "_:bob",
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with blank node labelled subject and object and IRIREF predicate and label (2)",
 		input:   `_:bob <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> _:alice <http://example.org/graphs/james> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "_:bob",
 			Predicate: "<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows>",
 			Object:    "_:alice",
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with all IRIREF parts",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Person> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob#me>",
 			Predicate: "<http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type>",
 			Object:    "<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Person>",
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with all IRIREF parts",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> <http://example.org/alice#me> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob#me>",
 			Predicate: "<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows>",
 			Object:    "<http://example.org/alice#me>",
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with IRIREF schema on literal object",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://schema.org/birthDate> "1990-07-04"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#date> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob#me>",
 			Predicate: "<http://schema.org/birthDate>",
 			Object:    `"1990-07-04"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#date>`,
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse commented IRIREF in triple",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/topic_interest> <http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob#me>",
 			Predicate: "<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/topic_interest>",
 			Object:    "<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418>",
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with literal subject",
 		input:   `<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/title> "Mona Lisa" .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418>",
 			Predicate: "<http://purl.org/dc/terms/title>",
 			Object:    `"Mona Lisa"`,
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with all IRIREF parts (1)",
 		input:   `<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator> <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Leonardo_da_Vinci> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418>",
 			Predicate: "<http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator>",
 			Object:    "<http://dbpedia.org/resource/Leonardo_da_Vinci>",
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse triple with all IRIREF parts (2)",
 		input:   `<http://data.europeana.eu/item/04802/243FA8618938F4117025F17A8B813C5F9AA4D619> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/subject> <http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://data.europeana.eu/item/04802/243FA8618938F4117025F17A8B813C5F9AA4D619>",
 			Predicate: "<http://purl.org/dc/terms/subject>",
 			Object:    "<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418>",
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse commented IRIREF in quad (1)",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Person> <http://example.org/bob> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob#me>",
 			Predicate: "<http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type>",
 			Object:    "<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Person>",
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with all IRIREF parts",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows> <http://example.org/alice#me> <http://example.org/bob> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob#me>",
 			Predicate: "<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/knows>",
 			Object:    "<http://example.org/alice#me>",
@@ -310,7 +310,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse quad with IRIREF schema on literal object",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://schema.org/birthDate> "1990-07-04"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#date> <http://example.org/bob> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob#me>",
 			Predicate: "<http://schema.org/birthDate>",
 			Object:    `"1990-07-04"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#date>`,
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse commented IRIREF in quad (2)",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/topic_interest> <http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <http://example.org/bob> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob#me>",
 			Predicate: "<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/topic_interest>",
 			Object:    "<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418>",
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse literal object and colon qualified label in quad",
 		input:   `<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/title> "Mona Lisa" <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityData/Q12418> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418>",
 			Predicate: "<http://purl.org/dc/terms/title>",
 			Object:    `"Mona Lisa"`,
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse all IRIREF parts with colon qualified label in quad (1)",
 		input:   `<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator> <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Leonardo_da_Vinci> <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityData/Q12418> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418>",
 			Predicate: "<http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator>",
 			Object:    "<http://dbpedia.org/resource/Leonardo_da_Vinci>",
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse all IRIREF parts with colon qualified label in quad (2)",
 		input:   `<http://data.europeana.eu/item/04802/243FA8618938F4117025F17A8B813C5F9AA4D619> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/subject> <http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418> <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityData/Q12418> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://data.europeana.eu/item/04802/243FA8618938F4117025F17A8B813C5F9AA4D619>",
 			Predicate: "<http://purl.org/dc/terms/subject>",
 			Object:    "<http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12418>",
@@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse all IRIREF parts (quad section - 1)",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/publisher> <http://example.org> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob>",
 			Predicate: "<http://purl.org/dc/terms/publisher>",
 			Object:    "<http://example.org>",
@@ -376,7 +376,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse all IRIREF parts (quad section - 2)",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob> <http://purl.org/dc/terms/rights> <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob>",
 			Predicate: "<http://purl.org/dc/terms/rights>",
 			Object:    "<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/>",
@@ -389,19 +389,19 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse empty",
 		input:   ``,
-		expect:  &quad.Quad{},
+		expect:  quad.Quad{},
 		err:     quad.ErrIncomplete,
 	},
 	{
 		message: "parse commented",
 		input:   `# comment`,
-		expect:  &quad.Quad{},
+		expect:  quad.Quad{},
 		err:     fmt.Errorf("%v: unexpected rune '#' at 0", quad.ErrInvalid),
 	},
 	{
 		message: "parse incomplete quad",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob#me>",
 			Predicate: "<http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type>",
 			Object:    "",
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ var testNTriples = []struct {
 	{
 		message: "parse incomplete quad",
 		input:   `<http://example.org/bob#me> <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type> .`,
-		expect: &quad.Quad{
+		expect: quad.Quad{
 			Subject:   "<http://example.org/bob#me>",
 			Predicate: "<http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type>",
 			Object:    "",
@@ -580,7 +580,7 @@ func TestUnescape(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-var result *quad.Quad
+var result quad.Quad
 
 func BenchmarkParser(b *testing.B) {
 	for n := 0; n < b.N; n++ {
diff --git a/quad/quad.go b/quad/quad.go
index 3e9943b..2f172c3 100644
--- a/quad/quad.go
+++ b/quad/quad.go
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ func (d Direction) String() string {
 // instead of the pointer. This needs benchmarking to make the decision.
 
 // Per-field accessor for triples
-func (q *Quad) Get(d Direction) string {
+func (q Quad) Get(d Direction) string {
 	switch d {
 	case Subject:
 		return q.Subject
@@ -119,16 +119,16 @@ func (q *Quad) Get(d Direction) string {
 	}
 }
 
-func (q *Quad) Equals(o *Quad) bool {
-	return *q == *o
+func (q Quad) Equals(o Quad) bool {
+	return q == o
 }
 
 // Pretty-prints a triple.
-func (q *Quad) String() string {
+func (q Quad) String() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s -- %s -> %s", q.Subject, q.Predicate, q.Object)
 }
 
-func (q *Quad) IsValid() bool {
+func (q Quad) IsValid() bool {
 	return q.Subject != "" && q.Predicate != "" && q.Object != ""
 }
 
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ func (q *Quad) IsValid() bool {
 // from nquads to here to provide UnmarshalText(text []byte) error.
 
 // Prints a triple in N-Quad format.
-func (q *Quad) NTriple() string {
+func (q Quad) NTriple() string {
 	if q.Label == "" {
 		//TODO(barakmich): Proper escaping.
 		return fmt.Sprintf("%s %s %s .", q.Subject, q.Predicate, q.Object)
@@ -147,5 +147,5 @@ func (q *Quad) NTriple() string {
 }
 
 type Unmarshaler interface {
-	Unmarshal() (*Quad, error)
+	Unmarshal() (Quad, error)
 }
diff --git a/query/gremlin/gremlin_test.go b/query/gremlin/gremlin_test.go
index dbd115a..a638eb7 100644
--- a/query/gremlin/gremlin_test.go
+++ b/query/gremlin/gremlin_test.go
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ import (
 //          \-->|#D#|------------->+---+
 //              +---+
 //
-var simpleGraph = []*quad.Quad{
+var simpleGraph = []quad.Quad{
 	{"A", "follows", "B", ""},
 	{"C", "follows", "B", ""},
 	{"C", "follows", "D", ""},
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ var simpleGraph = []*quad.Quad{
 	{"G", "status", "cool", "status_graph"},
 }
 
-func makeTestSession(data []*quad.Quad) *Session {
+func makeTestSession(data []quad.Quad) *Session {
 	ts, _ := graph.NewTripleStore("memstore", "", nil)
 	for _, t := range data {
 		ts.AddTriple(t)
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ var testQueries = []struct {
 	},
 }
 
-func runQueryGetTag(g []*quad.Quad, query string, tag string) []string {
+func runQueryGetTag(g []quad.Quad, query string, tag string) []string {
 	js := makeTestSession(g)
 	c := make(chan interface{}, 5)
 	js.ExecInput(query, c, -1)
diff --git a/query/mql/mql_test.go b/query/mql/mql_test.go
index 6be480e..619ae54 100644
--- a/query/mql/mql_test.go
+++ b/query/mql/mql_test.go
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ import (
 //          \-->|#D#|------------->+---+
 //              +---+
 //
-var simpleGraph = []*quad.Quad{
+var simpleGraph = []quad.Quad{
 	{"A", "follows", "B", ""},
 	{"C", "follows", "B", ""},
 	{"C", "follows", "D", ""},
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ var simpleGraph = []*quad.Quad{
 	{"G", "status", "cool", "status_graph"},
 }
 
-func makeTestSession(data []*quad.Quad) *Session {
+func makeTestSession(data []quad.Quad) *Session {
 	ts, _ := graph.NewTripleStore("memstore", "", nil)
 	for _, t := range data {
 		ts.AddTriple(t)
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ var testQueries = []struct {
 	},
 }
 
-func runQuery(g []*quad.Quad, query string) interface{} {
+func runQuery(g []quad.Quad, query string) interface{} {
 	s := makeTestSession(g)
 	c := make(chan interface{}, 5)
 	go s.ExecInput(query, c, -1)
diff --git a/query/sexp/parser_test.go b/query/sexp/parser_test.go
index e7e66bf..ed4776a 100644
--- a/query/sexp/parser_test.go
+++ b/query/sexp/parser_test.go
@@ -32,21 +32,21 @@ func TestBadParse(t *testing.T) {
 
 var testQueries = []struct {
 	message string
-	add     *quad.Quad
+	add     quad.Quad
 	query   string
 	typ     graph.Type
 	expect  string
 }{
 	{
 		message: "get a single triple linkage",
-		add:     &quad.Quad{"i", "can", "win", ""},
+		add:     quad.Quad{"i", "can", "win", ""},
 		query:   "($a (:can \"win\"))",
 		typ:     graph.And,
 		expect:  "i",
 	},
 	{
 		message: "get a single triple linkage",
-		add:     &quad.Quad{"i", "can", "win", ""},
+		add:     quad.Quad{"i", "can", "win", ""},
 		query:   "(\"i\" (:can $a))",
 		typ:     graph.And,
 		expect:  "i",
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ func TestMemstoreBackedSexp(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf(`Incorrect type for empty query, got:%q expect: "null"`, it.Type())
 	}
 	for _, test := range testQueries {
-		if test.add != nil {
+		if test.add.IsValid() {
 			ts.AddTriple(test.add)
 		}
 		it := BuildIteratorTreeForQuery(ts, test.query)
@@ -79,8 +79,8 @@ func TestMemstoreBackedSexp(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestTreeConstraintParse(t *testing.T) {
 	ts, _ := graph.NewTripleStore("memstore", "", nil)
-	ts.AddTriple(&quad.Quad{"i", "like", "food", ""})
-	ts.AddTriple(&quad.Quad{"food", "is", "good", ""})
+	ts.AddTriple(quad.Quad{"i", "like", "food", ""})
+	ts.AddTriple(quad.Quad{"food", "is", "good", ""})
 	query := "(\"i\"\n" +
 		"(:like\n" +
 		"($a (:is :good))))"
@@ -99,8 +99,8 @@ func TestTreeConstraintParse(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestTreeConstraintTagParse(t *testing.T) {
 	ts, _ := graph.NewTripleStore("memstore", "", nil)
-	ts.AddTriple(&quad.Quad{"i", "like", "food", ""})
-	ts.AddTriple(&quad.Quad{"food", "is", "good", ""})
+	ts.AddTriple(quad.Quad{"i", "like", "food", ""})
+	ts.AddTriple(quad.Quad{"food", "is", "good", ""})
 	query := "(\"i\"\n" +
 		"(:like\n" +
 		"($a (:is :good))))"
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ func TestTreeConstraintTagParse(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestMultipleConstraintParse(t *testing.T) {
 	ts, _ := graph.NewTripleStore("memstore", "", nil)
-	for _, tv := range []*quad.Quad{
+	for _, tv := range []quad.Quad{
 		{"i", "like", "food", ""},
 		{"i", "like", "beer", ""},
 		{"you", "like", "beer", ""},