Question Mark

 The Question Mark

Use the question mark:

1. At the end of all direct questions

  • What is your name?
  • Do you speak Italian?
  • You're Spanish, aren't you?

2. At the end of all tag questions

  • He should quit smoking, shouldn't he?
  • He shouldn't have quit his diet, should he?
  • They're not doing very well, are they?
  • He finished on time, didn't he?
  • She does a beautiful job, doesn't she?
  • Harold may come along, mightn't he?
  • There were too many people on the dock, weren't there? (Be careful of this last one; it's not "weren't they?")

For more information, please read "Question tags" section.
3. Do not use the question mark for reported questions

  • He asked me what my name was.
  • She asked if I was Spanish.
  • Ask them where they are going.

General notes:

1. Don't forget to place a question mark at the end of long sentences that contain a question

  • Isn't it true that global warming is responsible for more and more problems which are having a disastrous effect on the world's climate and leading to many millions of people in countries that can least afford it having to contend with more and more hardship?

2. Sometimes a question mark can be placed within a sentence

  • There is cause for concern - isn't there? - that the current world economic balance is so fragile that it may lead to a global economic downturn.

3. When a question ends with an abbreviation, end the abbreviation with a period and then add the question mark.

  • Didn't he use to live in Washington, D.C.?