The Question Mark and the Exclamation Point Help (page 2)

Question Mark Help

The question mark, another end mark, has an obvious use: It is used to ask a question or make an inquiry:

Are you coming?

Did Jack say you were coming?

Again, when you use a question mark, do not use any other end mark. The exception, of course, is when an abbreviation precedes the question mark. For example:

Did you say that Jack is starting his job at All Things Computer, Inc.?

When question marks are used with quotations, their usage is a bit more complicated, but very logical. Look at the following examples:

Did you know that Gwen said, "I'm a totally different person than the one I was as a teen"?

Gwen said, "Did you know that I'm a totally different person than the one I was as a teen?"

In the first sentence, the question refers to the entire sentence, not just the quoted part, so the question mark is placed outside the quotes. In the second sentence, the quoted portion is the question, so the question mark is placed inside the closing quotation marks.

For the following exercises, review the previous examples and information to confirm the correct use of a question mark.

Question Mark Practice and Answers

Practice

In each of the following sentences, find and correct the errors in the use of question marks.

1. Was it Marco who said, "Our train leaves at 10 P.M.?"
2. "Do you think the weather is warm enough to plant flowers," Elsa asked?
3. The doctor's assistant asked, "May I have your insurance card."?
4. The patient wondered if the secretary would require some form of ID as well?
5. I asked my daughter, "When will you ever be on time for our appointments"?

Answers

Practice

In the following paragraphs, insert or delete question marks wherever necessary.

Paragraph 1

My friend asked, "Have you heard about the link of lead exposure to Alzheimer's disease" She had just read the study from the University of Rhode Island that found a link between early exposure to lead in the environment and the onset of Alzheimer's disease much later in life? The scientists cautioned lead poisoning patients not to fear that their lead exposure would definitely lead to Alzheimer's disease. They said, "There are, after all, many other things that can affect a person between youth and old age, aren't there"?

Paragraph 2

Do you see the world around you going green Has your supermarket started charging for bags—either plastic or paper. Will you finally decide to ride your bicycle to the office to help reduce carbon emissions (not even considering the cost of gas.) Did you remember to turn off the lights before you left home (And if you didn't, will it bother you all day) Surely, you have switched to energy-efficient lightbulbs, or have you I guess we can agree that going green is not an easy thing to do, or can we There's a popular children's song that says it all: It's not easy being green!

Practice

In each of the following sentences, insert or delete the period, question mark, or exclamation where necessary.

1. All national elections bring change; the 2008 presidential election was historic in bringing an African-American into the White House Oval Office
2. We kept hearing people ask, "Did you vote"
3. Don't you think that this was one of the most important statements uttered by President-Elect Obama: "I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face?"
4. When we went camping last summer, we saw a bear. We wanted to scream, "Run"!
5. When we finally agreed to go (remember my reservations.), it was too late in the day.
6. "Wait" he cried, "There's contamination in there."
7. Chef Antonia said, "I'll be back at 6 PM to serve the main course Don't disappoint me"!
8. If you're really late, you'll find us at 100 Linden St
9. Address that letter to Newark, N.J.
10. We left a note on the door regarding suspending deliveries (Anyone would understand not to leave packages while we were away)

Answers