Questions tagged [question-mark]

Questions about the question mark (?) that appears at the end of questions.

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Does this direct speech need a question mark? [duplicate]

I have this direct speech: "What's in the bag?" "Let me go!", said John. "What's in the bag, I said!" Does the last line need a question mark and if so, should it be ...
6 votes
2 answers
20k views

Question mark followed by a comma or semi colon in a list

Is it ever okay to follow a question mark with a comma or semi-colon? For example, would any of the following be valid? 1 The main questions addressed in the literature are: who said it?, what does ...
0 votes
0 answers
154 views

"This leads to the question" followed by a comma or a colon

I am saying something along the lines of "this leads to the question, why does x happen" or "this brings up an interesting question, why does x happen" but I'm not sure if it ...
5 votes
3 answers
5k views

Do you use a question mark when a sentence starts as a question but then turns into a statement?

Do you use a question mark when a sentence starts as a question but then turns into a statement? For example, "Can you explain this to me, because I don't understand the second part." "What did he ...
3 votes
2 answers
3k views

'Could you please share [or xyz task]'—with or without question mark?

Often, the type of sentence I have in mind, though interrogative in form, comes with a sense of being an order, not a refusable request, and people have stopped using a question mark at the end of ...
6 votes
2 answers
15k views

Should I use a question mark when the second independent clause of my sentence is not a question? [duplicate]

Is it appropriate to use a question mark at the end of a compound sentence where the first independent clause is a question but the second is a statement? For example: Do you want attribution for ...
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

"server, please!" -- is there a comma in there?

Related to youtube/5ycx9hFGHog, I'd like to know whether it is correct or incorrect to put a comma between "server" and "please", when writing about an act of calling one's server, whether the "please"...
0 votes
3 answers
77 views

Should you use a conjuncton in a question? [closed]

Example: What do you think of this as I was going to buy it? Alternative I suspect is correct: What do you think of this? I was going to buy it. I wanted to see if I can word it as a single ...
2 votes
3 answers
11k views

Ending a sentence with "?!" or "!?"

When ending a sentence with a ? and a !, is there a rule which one comes first? That is, ?! or !?? If either is okay, are they interchangeable, or for difference circumstances?
7 votes
3 answers
10k views

Punctuation for a non-question question like "May I suggest that…"

Some sentences begin with a construction like "May I suggest that...." These are phrased as questions but are really statements. Should such a sentence end with a question mark or a period [full stop] ...
0 votes
0 answers
47 views

What is it called when an author uses a question mark without a question attached? [duplicate]

My specific example is from a passage in Fahrenheit 451 (although I've seen it used colloquially as well): Click? Pic? Look, Eye, Now, Flick, Here, There, Swift, Pace, Up, Down, In, Out, Why, How, ...
2 votes
3 answers
309 views

Is it possible to make a declarative sentence starting with 'Can'?

everyone As the title shows, is it possible to make a declarative sentence starting with "Can"? For example, 'Please, can we request that you do not accept any proposals from him.' The ...
49 votes
4 answers
12k views

How should I punctuate around quotes where the punctuation required by the quote interferes with the punctuation of the sentence?

The American convention in quotations is (typically) to place punctuation inside quoted text. But I always run into situations where the punctuation of the quote interferes with the punctuation of the ...
2 votes
1 answer
443 views

Confused in the usage of "where" in a non-interrogative sentence

I was writing an essay, but I came across a weird sentence: Where peace prevails, justice prevails. In the above sentence, I am confused if the usage of "where" at the beginning of the ...
1 vote
1 answer
156 views

How do you properly write a question that contains follow-up questions? [closed]

For example if you were to write a question like: "Is this something that you would be interested in, and if so: when are you be available?" How do you structure the sentence with regards to ...
0 votes
0 answers
204 views

Can I use a question mark for a list after a colon?

For example, After the incident, I was no longer sure who to blame: Ethan, Michael, or Jake? Or is there a better way to phrase this sentence?
2 votes
3 answers
2k views

Should an embedded question be set in quotation marks?

For example, given the following sentence, is it proper to set the enclosed question in quotation marks? The first question to ask is, “should quotation marks be used?” Any additional comments ...
13 votes
7 answers
5k views

Any authoritative source on British rules on space before question mark?

Is it ever correct to have a space before a question or exclamation mark? is affirming what I always use, but now some translators I know said that I always need a space before. I am sure they are ...
0 votes
1 answer
91 views

Where would the question marks fall within this poem?

Can someone help me punctuate this line? It is poetry, which may not always follow the common rules of punctuation... I asked myself is there such a place in the deepest part of the soul where noone ...
126 votes
6 answers
169k views

Is it ever correct to have a space before a question or exclamation mark?

In written English (mainly online) I often come across sentences ending with a question or an exclamation mark with a space before it. Is it always just an error or a typo? Or there are cases when it ...
3 votes
1 answer
815 views

Can a clause beginning "I assume" be made into a question by intonation?

I recently answered a question on ELL. It included a sentence similar to this: If it's neither A nor B, I assume that it's C? I answered the question, and noted that I think that a clause beginning &...
2 votes
1 answer
94 views

Where to put question mark in sentences with two statements

I'm not sure where to put the question mark here. Can anyone help please? But why would anyone want to be famous? Especially since fame brings a bunch of problems. (This punctuation reflects the ...
0 votes
1 answer
95 views

How do I use a question as an embedded quotation when it also deserves a comma?

So I asked "Shall I do the thing?" and he responded with "Yes." In that sentence, should the ? exist? It kind of feels like it should be a comma, given its place in the sentence. ...
-2 votes
2 answers
138 views

Question or statement?

This is a passage from a poem: What is love, but the passion I feel in my heart? What is passion, but the energy of my soul? What is my soul, but a fountain of emotions erupting? My question is, ...
-1 votes
1 answer
107 views

Question mark after a comma and a second sentence? [duplicate]

A non-English native friend has just said that an English speaker told him the question mark should NOT be used after a pair of sentences separated by a comma. Something like this: "Could someone ...
-1 votes
1 answer
113 views

How should I correctly write this question?

"Can you provide documentation stating the noise levels, so that we are able to show compliance if we get audited?" Even though this is a question, I feel like the question mark at the end doesn't ...
55 votes
10 answers
194k views

Is there a standard ordering for the question mark and the exclamation mark used together?

We've all wanted to express certain questions, rhetorical or not, with annoyance, excitement, surprise, frustration and so on. What better way than with both a question mark (?) and an exclamation ...
17 votes
7 answers
52k views

Using a question mark mid-sentence

May I use a question mark in the middle of a sentence? Examples: Would you like the drapes to be white? or perhaps something off-white? Would you like the logo to be centered? at the bottom? left off ...
10 votes
8 answers
7k views

Is the question mark misused in affirmative sentences?

For example, I found the following sentence written by a native English speaker (UK) so I'm going to assume that he knows how to put it the right way, although I wouldn't use this form. I now have ...
0 votes
0 answers
19 views

Punctuating questions containing questions [duplicate]

For example, ‘Did you just ask, “Why me?”?’, Rita Queried I know using two question marks is not right, but is this sentence right? Because both are questions.
1 vote
1 answer
785 views

"He added" vs. "Did he add" (inversion after negative adverb) [duplicate]

I'm reading a book, and I found a sentence where I don't understand the grammar. It seems as the writer wants to write a statement, but uses the structure of a question. The sentence is highlighted in ...
1 vote
1 answer
814 views

Proper and polite usage of "can you"

In email communication, people often use "can you do X" instead of "please do X". Is this a more polite form, or is this just an idiom which means exactly the same? If I use "...
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

Punctuation of Isn't it

How would you punctuate the phrase It's a beautiful day, isn't it? Would you use a question mark or period at the end? My intent is to make it rhetorical. The full example is: She woke up alone, ...
3 votes
0 answers
70 views

Question Tag moved forward in sentence

If a question tag were moved forward in a sentence, how would it be punctuated? And if the question tag were a parenthetical, would the sentence still be a question? There’s no point, is there, in ...
0 votes
2 answers
3k views

Punctuating a sentence which is a question followed by statement [duplicate]

Which is best? Do we need to walk to the supermarket, as we have a car? OR Do we need to walk to the supermarket, as we have a car.
0 votes
0 answers
439 views

What is the correct punctuation in the sentence "Shall I open the window or you will do it"

I have a sentence: Shall I open the window or you will do it. I wonder whether the second half of the sentence is grammatically correct (is it an indirect question?) and whether or not we need a ...
1 vote
3 answers
548 views

Comma, quote needed before "quoted" material?

Which punctuation, if any, is correct: A. Did you ever ask Barb, "Hey, what's the matter with you?" B. Did you ever ask Barb, hey, what's the matter with you? C. Did you ever ask Barb, Hey, what's ...
0 votes
0 answers
64 views

Question mark before or after parentheses for incidental text? [duplicate]

I have this sentence: Can you share those documents with me? And I want to add an incidental text like "(no problem if they are in progress)". Shall I add that text before or after the quastion ...
2 votes
2 answers
12k views

Punctuating a question followed by a further comment in a sentence: position of question mark [duplicate]

I am always confused regarding the accepted placement of the question mark when there is a comment or the like following the actual question in a sentence. Consider the following options: Shall I ...
1 vote
2 answers
36k views

Phrase "you might ask"

I often wonder if I should use question marks in different situations. This occurs with me when a sentence starts out as a question, but after a comma turns into just a "normal sentence". The ...
2 votes
2 answers
264 views

Punctuating mid-sentence question/uncertainty? [closed]

How do you indicate a question (as in an uncertain statement) mid-sentence? My first thought was: "That's Fred and his—cousin?—by the punch bowl." But if you take out the parenthetical, ...
1 vote
3 answers
107k views

Has the request “May I request you to …” to end with a question mark?

May I request you to kindly collect the brief? or May I request you to kindly collect the brief. Which of the above two sentences is correctly punctuated? Added afterwards: This request is to ...
0 votes
1 answer
205 views

Can a gerund be used to start a question title? [duplicate]

For the sake of using less characters in a title I often change a question like: How do I learn to ride a bike? to: Learning to ride a bike? I know these two constructs are not identical in ...
0 votes
1 answer
57 views

Question marks (again!)

I'm sorry, I've looked at other places here, and can't find the exact answer - maybe the searching strategy I'm using isn't good. There are some related ones, though none solving this that I can see. ...
7 votes
3 answers
28k views

Do I need a comma after this question mark?

I want to write the folowing sentence in some work: You went there on Thursday? for instance, is not an interrogative clause but a declarative one, even if the utterance may be a question. In the ...
0 votes
0 answers
39 views

should there be space between a sentence and question mark or not? [duplicate]

while asking questions in the sentence do we need to give space between question mark (?) and the sentence. what is your name? what is your name ? which one is correct?
-1 votes
1 answer
103 views

Does a question mark (?) come to the end of a sentence which starts with "How to ..." ? if no/yes why? [duplicate]

Do these sentences need question mark? How To Repair and Restore Windows 10 (?) Or How to fix java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: Failed resolution of: Ljava/beans/Introspector error (?) (this ...
0 votes
1 answer
43 views

How should I punctuate/capitalize the following question? [closed]

Is the following question punctuated/capitalized correctly? “What’s that, a dishrag?” Or should it be two questions? “What’s that? A dishrag?” Or would a third option be best? Thanks!
-1 votes
1 answer
3k views

Is it okay to use a question mark after a name if another character wishes to draw that person's attention? [closed]

Is it okay to use a question mark if a character wishes to draw someone's attention? Anne: Bob? Bob: Yes? Anne: I think you should know something.
-2 votes
2 answers
51 views

Is a question mark needed? [closed]

Is a question mark needed after "kitchen"? I feel there might be as I imagine Bob has omitted "didn't you?" from the end of the sentence. If it was there a question mark seems like it would be needed: ...