What is a Question Mark?

A question mark is the bit of punctuation you add at the end of a question to indicate that you are actually inquiring about something. It looks like this ‘?’ and you add it whenever you ask a question in a bit of writing to show that a question has been asked.

What is a Question?

A question is simply a sentence that is worded or expressed in a way that shows you want to receive some information. Essentially you are looking for somebody to provide information in the form of an answer. Typically, there are two main types of questions: direct and indirect.

Direct Questions

These are just simply where you ask a question that you want to receive a direct answer too. It’s straight to the point. Something like this: ‘What’s the problem?’.

Indirect Questions

An indirect question is slightly more formal or polite. It isn’t expressed as a question directly in some cases, so in these cases, a question mark isn’t used. Instead, it is said as a statement that simply implies that an answer is required. Something like this: “I wonder what the problem is.”

An indirect question can also be asked as a question within a question for a more polite approach. It still indicates that an answer is required and it’s still expressed as a question, but it’s slightly more formal. Something like this: “Can you tell me what the problem is?” This combines the questions “What’s the problem?” and “Can you tell me?” to create a slightly less direct way of eliciting information.