Question Marks

What is a Question Mark?

Question marks are a stronger punctuation form than the period and help the reader understand that a statement is being made that requires a response.

Where Did Question Marks Come From?

The history of the question mark is uncertain. Some claim it arose from an English scholar in Charlemagne’s court who produced a litany of books and poems. To help his readers, he created the “punctus interrogativus.” Some claim it arose from the Egyptians who honored their cats and thought the question mark looked like a cat’s tail when it is inquisitive. Still others claim that it arose from the Latin word “quaestio” which translates to “question.”

How Do You Use a Question Mark?

Some Good Rules to Follow:

  1. Replace the period when using a question mark.

  2. Use whenever a direct question is asked.

  3. Do not use a question mark with indirect questions, rhetorical questions, or commands.

  4. Do not use a question mark as terminal punctuation with other punctuation such as periods, commas, colons, semicolons or exclamation points. If wanting to amplify an interrogative sentence, you may use the interrobang (‽) but it is usually not needed.

When to Use Question Marks:

As Terminal Punctuation

Question marks replace periods at the end of sentences to indicate direct inquiries.

As Medial Punctuation

Question marks are used before the end of a sentence when part of dialogue or pronouns.

To Respond to Texts

If you receive a text that’s incomprehensible, a lone question mark may be used in reply. It is direct—you don’t understand—and embodies the face you definitely made while trying to read the text.

When Do You Not Use a Question Mark?

With Indirect Questions

Indirect questions never require question marks.

With Single Word Questions Within a Sentence

When question words who, what, when, where, or why are asked alone within a sentence, the question mark may be removed. If desired, the question word may be italicized.

References

  1. “A Short History of the Question Mark”, The Literary Salon, November 10, 2018. 

  2. “Question Marks”, Grammar Book, Accessed May 30, 2018.

This page was created with the help of our volunteer, Courtney!

Interested in becoming a volunteer? Reach out to us via the Contact page!

This page was published May 25, 2022.