Question Mark: Definition and Use

What is a Question Mark?

A question mark (?) is a punctuation mark used to signify a direct inquiry at the conclusion of a sentence or phrase. Various names for the question mark include interrogation point, note of questioning, and question point.

For example −

Mala asked, “are you happy to be back in London?”

It is useful to know that in grammar, a question is a sort of phrase stated in a form that demands (or appears to require) a response in order to comprehend the question mark and its function. A question sentence, often referred to as an interrogative sentence, is typically distinguishable from a phrase that makes a statement, issues an order, or exclaims. It concludes with a question mark.

Purpose of a Question Mark

Merriam-Webster's Guide to Punctuation and Style states that "A question mark concludes a straight query" and that it "Always expresses a question or doubt."

What went awry?

How long till they show up?

Rene J. Cappon, the author of "The Associated Press Guide to Punctuation," defines the question mark as "the least demanding" of all the punctuation marks, adding that all you need to know is what a question is, and you punctuate appropriately.

A question is a form of interrogative statement that is frequently used to gauge understanding, such as,

You played the match today, right?

In such case, the question mark's function would appear straightforward. Invariably, the interrogation point is asked as a straight inquiry, according to Cappon. But deeper examination reveals that this seemingly straightforward punctuation mark may be challenging to utilise and simple to abuse.

Correct and Incorrect Use

Using the question mark correctly can be challenging for authors in a variety of situations −

When you have several inquiries for which you are anticipating an answer or answers, you should use a question mark, even numerous question marks, according to Cappon, even in sentence fragments like −

How did you spend your summer holidays? Travelling? Adventure? Reading a novel?

A question mark should never be put next to a comma, and it should never be next to a period unless it is a component of an abbreviation, according to Harold Rabinowitz and Suzanne Vogel in "The Manual of Scientific Style: A Guide for Authors, Editors, and Researchers."

In general, question marks shouldn't be multiplied for emphasis or used next to exclamation points.

For example, a sentence like

How have you been???

may be common for messaging and social media lingo, but is grammatically incorrect.

Similarly,

When did you reach here!?

is wrong because both exclamation and question marks have been used together.

According to "The Associated Press Stylebook, 2018," a comma should always come before a question mark, as in −

"She questioned, "Who is there?"

A comma and a question mark should never be used together, either before or after quote marks. Because it completes the interrogative clause in this phrase, the question mark appears before the quote mark.

In general, do not conclude an indirect question with a question mark; instead, end it with a period. Indirect questions are declarative sentences that convey a question. When no response is anticipated, Cappon advises against using a question mark, and he provides the following instances of indirect questions −

Although it seems like a question, "Would you mind shutting the window" is probably not one. The same holds true for the request to refrain from slamming the door as you depart.

In "The Business Writer's Companion," Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu state that you delete the question mark when you "ask" a rhetorical question, which is simply a statement for which you do not anticipate an answer.

Can you carry in the groceries, please? - is an example of "polite requests" that don't require a response if you just expect you'll get one.

An Indirect Question Within a Question

It may be even more challenging to use the question mark, as this example from the Merriam-Webster punctuation guide illustrates −

What was her motive? you may be asking.

The speaker does not anticipate a response to the indirect inquiry in the statement. The speaker is effectively quoting or publicising the listener's views while asking an indirect inquiry, which incorporates a query phrase. Merriam-Webster offers even more challenging examples −

I naturally wondered, will it really work?

She was really perplexed and questioned "Who could have done such a thing?"

An indirect inquiry is also used in the first phrase. I, the speaker, am paraphrasing my own words, which take the form of a query. This is not an interrogative phrase, though, as the speaker does not anticipate a response. Merriam-Webster advises rephrasing the first clause above as a straightforward declarative statement rather than using a question mark −

I naturally wondered whether it would really work.

Another indirect inquiry with an interrogative statement is the second sentence. Because the interrogative sentence "Who could have done such a thing?" is a question, you'll notice that the question mark appears before the quotation marks.

In "Back to Methuselah," George Bernard Shaw provides a famous illustration of an indirect inquiry that simultaneously contains an interrogative remark (or query) −

"You observe things and ask, "Why?" However, I daydream about unrealized possibilities and ask, "Why not?"

The speaker is making two claims, and he is not looking for a response to any of them. However, there is a question—"Why?" and "Why not?" both of which quote the listener—within every assertion.

Conversational Mark

According to Roy Peter Clark, author of “The Glamour of Grammar," the question mark is the punctuation symbol that is "most essentially human." This punctuation "envisions communication as engaging, even conversational, rather than aggressive." An interrogative remark that ends with a question mark indirectly acknowledges the other person and requests her opinions and contributions.

According to Clark, the question mark is "the motor of discussions and inquiries, of riddles solved and secrets to be disclosed, of student and teacher interactions, of expectation and explanation." When used properly, the question mark may assist you in drawing in your reader and making them feel like an active participant whose answers you are seeking and whose perspectives are important.