The Question Mark: Everything You Should Know

Proper punctuation helps your readers understand what you mean in your writing. It’s remarkable how these tiny marks, such as a comma or period, can completely change a sentence’s tone, meaning, and cadence.

The question mark (?) is one of the most common and important punctuation marks in the English language (and many others). It’s also called an interrogation point or eroteme.

We use it to distinguish sentences that present questions from ones that make statements, deliver exclamations, or convey commands.

When to Use (and Not Use) Question Marks

Though it’s one of the simplest symbols of punctuation, the rules for using it depend a lot on context. Below are the most common circumstances where you might use (or omit) question marks.

1. Direct Questions

Direct questions are simple, clear, and always asked in direct speech. They’re the “normal” questions you use in day-to-day living. These kinds of questions always end in a question mark.

Examples:

• Who are you talking to?
• Where can I sit?
• How do I go to the park?

2. Indirect Questions

An indirect question is a question embedded into an interrogative sentence or in a declarative sentence (sentences that make statements).

If it’s inside an interrogative sentence, you should follow the same rules as in a direct question.

Example: Do you know if Samantha’s feeling down?

If it’s inside a declarative sentence, a period should be used instead of a question mark. These types of indirect questions are structured as statements, and so should follow the rules of a declarative sentence.

Example: I wonder if Samantha’s feeling down right now.

In both examples, the embedded direct question is “Is Samantha feeling down?”.

3. Rhetorical Questions

A rhetorical question is a question that doesn’t need an answer. It’s a sentence made to make a point instead of an inquiry. The answer to the question is either obvious or immediately provided by the questioner.

Experts are divided on the punctuation marks you should use for this. Depending on the context, a rhetorical question can be ended with a question mark, period, or exclamation mark.

Examples:

• What’s not to like? (Implies that you like it.)
• Guess who’s coming to dinner. (It’s you, probably.)
• Would you kids knock it off! (You’re not asking, you’re telling them to do it.)

In the 1580s, an English printer named Henry Denham actually invented a question mark solely to be used for rhetorical questions. It took the form of an inverted question mark (⸮). It didn’t catch on though, and fell to disuse just a few years after its introduction.

4. Tag Questions

Tag Questions are half-statement and half-question sentences. They’re mostly used to elicit agreement from another person. Usually, if the main clause is positive, the attached tag question is negative and vice versa.

Since the ending of the sentence is in interrogative form, the ending punctuation should be a question mark.

Examples:

• You’re excited, aren’t you?
• The parade will start at 10 a.m. sharp, won’t it?
• He failed the exam, right?

5. Sentences with quotation marks

At first glance, the rules involved with question marks and quotation marks seem convoluted, but they’re actually quite simple. If a question mark only affects the phrase inside the quotation marks, then it should also be inside.

“What do you do for a living?” asked the police offer.

If the question mark affects the sentence as a whole, then it should be outside of the quotation marks.

Have you heard of the phrase “It’s raining cats and dogs”?

And if a quoted question ends in midsentence, the question mark replaces the usual comma.

“Who is the new employee?” asked John.

6. Sentences with parentheses

The rules for question marks and parentheses are also the same as for question marks and quotation marks. If the question mark only applies to what’s inside the parentheses, then put it inside.

The dog’s howl (or was it a wolf’s?) echoed through the entire valley.

If the question mark involves the whole sentence, the question mark should be written outside the parentheses.

Have you heard about what happened to Anne Hathaway (the actress)?

8. Expressing uncertainty

A question mark can be added inside parentheses or brackets to indicate uncertainty. This is usually done in an editorial setting.

Examples:

• The witness reportedly heard 7(?) gunshots at 7:43 in the evening.
• He was born in 1962 (1963?) to a middle-income family.

9. Requests

If a question is framed as a polite request or to convey instructions, you should use a period instead of a question mark. This is specifically true as the requests get longer and more complex.

Examples:

• Would students from Class 1B please occupy the seats from rows 4-9 in the upper benches.
• Can everyone with a meal stub come to the front and take their meals.
• Would you please call my husband and tell him to meet me in the lobby.

10. Multiple questions

Sometimes you include follow-up questions immediately after a question. They’re often incomplete sentences and serve to emphasize the initial question.

When writing rapid-fire questions like these, don’t capitalize the first words and always end them with a question mark.

Examples:

• Do you want to eat noodles? pizza? or burgers?
• Who should we call first? mommy? daddy? maybe grandpa?
• Will you to prom with me? or James? anyone at all?

You don’t capitalize each choice because they’re still considered only one sentence. They could even be rewritten as one question that uses only one question mark. Like so:

• Do you want to eat noodles, pizza, or burgers?
• Do we call mommy, daddy, or grandpa first?
• Will you go to prom with me, James, or anyone at all?

11. Titles

If a question mark is part of an underlined or italicized title, the question mark should also be underlined or italicized.

Examples:

• Have you read Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream?
• Do you want to watch Hamilton?

12. Multiple terminal punctuations

There are times where you pair the question mark and the exclamation mark to signify that a question is asked in an exclamatory manner.

Examples:

• You did what?!
• Was that even worth the effort?!
• Who were you seeing?!

If you do this, make sure that the question mark is always added first. They are, primarily, questions and not exclamations.

The 16th (published in 2010) and up to the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style has accepted this convention though most authorities still reject it.

An alternative to using both symbols is the interrobang. It’s intended to perform the functions of both a question mark and an exclamation mark. The symbol it uses (‽) is a superimposition of both marks.

Using Question Marks

The question mark is a cornerstone of English punctuation. It’s a cue for us to correctly determine the meaning of a sentence. You won’t know it’s a question if there’s no question mark, right?

What separates it from other punctuations though is that it invites a response from another person. Used correctly, you’re engaging your readers and asking them to take part in your discussion.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

 

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

• How to Use an Exclamation Point Properly
• Capitalization Rules: The Do’s and Don’ts of Uppercase
• Rules for Formatting Dialogue: How to Punctuate and Capitalize Your Characters’ Speech

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