English
When do you use a question mark?
Quick answer
A question mark (?) goes at the end of a sentence that asks a direct question, like Where are my shoes? It replaces the full stop.
In one sentence
A question mark is the punctuation mark that ends a sentence asking a question.
Explained
A sentence that asks something ends with a question mark instead of a full stop: What time is it? The curl at the top tells readers to lift their voice slightly, the way we do when we ask.
Questions are built in a few ways:
- With a question word: who, what, when, where, why, which, whose, how. Where did you put the scissors?
- By swapping the order of the subject and a verb such as is, can, do, will. You are ready → Are you ready? She can swim → Can she swim?
- With a question tag on the end: You like mangoes, don't you?
- Sometimes just by tone, in speech or informal writing: You're leaving already?
Only direct questions take a question mark. An indirect question reports a question inside a statement, so it ends with a full stop: She asked where the scissors were.
In direct speech, the question mark goes inside the inverted commas, and you do not add a comma after it: "Are you coming?" asked Ali.
One end mark is enough. Really?! is fine in a text message, but in school writing choose either ? or !. And use one question mark, not three.
A nice comparison for multilingual families: Spanish puts an upside-down question mark at the start as well, ¿Dónde estás?, but English only uses one at the end.
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Examples
- How many legs does a spider have?
- Did you remember your PE kit?
- Which way is the station?
- It's your birthday tomorrow, isn't it?
- "Can I borrow a pencil?" asked Jo.
Common mistakes
- Question marks on indirect questions. I wonder why the sky is blue. is a statement.
- Forgetting them on short questions. Ready? still needs one.
- Adding a comma after one in speech. "Why?", she asked should be "Why?" she asked.
Quick quiz
Question marks
Check what you know with 4 quick questions.
Question 1 of 4
Which sentence needs a question mark?
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Related topics
Sentences
A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense on its own. It starts with a capital letter, ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark, and usually has a verb.
Full stops
A full stop (called a period in the US) is the dot that ends a sentence that is a statement or a calm command. It tells the reader the idea is finished.
Inverted commas
Inverted commas, also called speech marks or quotation marks, go around the exact words someone says, like "Come here," said Mum.
Capital letters
Use a capital letter at the start of every sentence, for names (proper nouns), for the word I, and at the start of direct speech and most titles.
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes a noun, telling you what kind, which one or how many, like a huge elephant, a sour lemon or three red balloons.
Adverbs
An adverb gives more information about a verb, adjective or another adverb, telling how, when, where or how often, like slowly, tomorrow, outside or always.