Using Question Marks
How To Question Marks
A question mark is used to show where a question ends. For example:- Really?
- If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one? (President Abraham Lincoln)
- If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex? (Author Art Hoppe)
- What's another word for Thesaurus? (Comedian Steven Wright)
Table of Contents
- Question Marks to Show Inflection
- Using (?) For Uncertainty
- Be Mindful of Indirect Questions
- A Polite Request Dressed Up As a Question
- Be Mindful of Questions That Look Like Statements
- Question Marks in Quotations
- The Inverted Question Mark
- The Rhetorical Question Mark
- Why Question Marks Are Important
- Test Time!
Question Marks to Show Inflection
Occasionally, most commonly in story-telling prose, a question mark is used to turn a sentence structured like statement into a question. The question mark tells the reader to add question inflection to the sentence. For example:- You won the lottery?
- She passed her motorbike test?
Inflected Words
- You won the lottery, eh?
- I'll see you at 6 o'clock, okay?
- You won the lottery, didn't you? (This sentence is transformed into a question by the question tag "didn't you.")
- You didn't win the lottery, did you? (The question tag is positive because the statement is negative.)
- You won the lottery, did you? (Sometimes, particularly to express surprise, a positive tag can be used with a positive statement.)
Using (?) For Uncertainty
Sometimes, in informal writing, a question mark in parentheses (brackets) is used to express uncertainty. For example:- All (?) the staff will be attending the briefing. (Here, the author is questioning whether "all the staff" literally means all the staff.)
- A lot of men (?) find ironing therapeutic. (Here, the author is suggesting that "real" men would not find ironing therapeutic.)
Be Mindful of Indirect Questions
An indirect question is a question embedded inside a statement (i.e., a declarative sentence) or another question (i.e., an interrogative sentence).Do not use a question mark when an indirect question is embedded within a statement. For example:
- He asked if I had seen the film yet. (This is an example of an indirect question. The direct question is "Have you seen the film yet?")
- I'm unsure whether the wether will weather the weather? (This is not a question. The direct question is "Will the wether [a ram] weather the weather?")
A Polite Request Dressed Up As a Question
Often, a polite request comes in the form a question. There is a lot of leniency on whether such a sentence is ended with a question mark or a period (full stop). For example:- Would all those in the back row who have been primed to ask a question please find a seat in the front three rows. (This is a question. However, it is meant as an instruction. As it straddles the ideas of an imperative sentence (a command) and an interrogative sentence (a question), it is acceptable to end it with a period (full stop). A question mark is also acceptable. You can let your instinct guide you.)
Be Mindful of Questions That Look Like Statements
Sometimes, a question feels like a statement. Be sure to use a question mark for a question. For example:- Do you realize if it weren't for Edison, we'd be watching TV by candlelight? (Canadian author Al Boliska)
Question Marks in Quotations
When used with quotation marks, a question mark follows logic. In other words, it will be inside the quotation if the quotation is a question, but it will be outside if the whole sentence is a question.Example 1:
- She said, "Have you finished?" () ()
- She said, "Have you finished?". () () (This is unwieldy but acceptable, particularly in the UK. In the US, this is an unpopular convention.)
Example 2:
- Did she say, "You have finished"? () ()
- Did she say, "Have you finished?"? () () (This is unwieldy but acceptable, particularly in the UK. In the US, this is an unpopular convention.)
Example 3:
- When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him, "Whose?" (American journalist Don Marquis)
The Inverted Question Mark
In Spanish, a question is introduced with an inverted (i.e., upside down) question mark. For example:- ¿Que es eso? (What is that?)
How To Get an Upside Down Question Mark
In HTML (i.e., for your website), an "upside down question mark" is:- ¿;
- 00bf (then press Alt+X)
- Alt+Ctrl+? (which is Alt+Ctrl+Shift+/)
The Rhetorical Question Mark
A rhetorical question is a question for which no answer is expected.- What's not to like?
- Wow, who knew he was so talented?
In the 1580s, to recognize that the rhetorical question was not a normal question, English printer Henry Denham invented the "rhetorical-question mark," which was a vertically reflected one. For a few years after its introduction, it seemed like the rhetorical-question mark would catch on. It didn't.
Why Question Marks Are Important
By far the most common error related to question marks is using a question mark for a non-question.Don't use a question mark after a non-question.
- She wants to know if you've arrived?
- I wonder if he will ever find his mojo? (These are not questions but statements. They should end in periods (full stops).)
Key Point
- Don't use a question mark after a statement that contains an indirect question.
- I wonder if it's true?
- I need to know whether I'm selected?
Learning Resources
play:
match the pairs (parts of speech) hundreds more games and testslists:
parts-of-speech listsmore actions:
Test Time!
This test is printable and sendable