# Question Mark

The **question mark** **?** is a punctuation mark that indicates an [interrogative](/tags/interrogative-sentence) [clause](/tags/clause) or [phrase](/tags/phrase). The question mark is not used for [indirect questions](/tags/indirect-speech).


# Question mark

The **question mark** ( **?** ) ends a direct [question](/tags/question): *What time is it?* / *Are you coming?* / *Do you know?*. It signals the rising intonation of a question to the reader.

The trap: **don't use a question mark with indirect questions**. *I asked whether he was coming.* and *I wonder where he is.* end with a [period](/tags/period), not a question mark — they're statements *about* questions, not questions themselves. Mixing the two up is one of the most common B1+ punctuation errors.


# Question mark

If you've ever written *I wondered if she was there?* and been told the question mark was wrong — you've hit the indirect-question trap. The sentence reports a question, but it's structured as a statement (no inversion, no question intonation), so it ends with a [period](/tags/period). Once that distinction clicks, your written questions get a lot more accurate.

The **question mark** ( **?** ) ends direct [questions](/tags/question): *What time is it?*. It's NOT used after **indirect questions** (*I wonder where he is.*) — those end with a [period](/tags/period) because they're statements, not questions.


# Question mark

- ✅ *What time is it**?*** — direct question
- ✅ *Are you coming**?*** — direct yes/no question
- ❌ *I wondered if she was there**?*** — indirect question (use period)
- ✅ *I wondered if she was there**.** * — correct (it's a statement)

The **question mark** (?) ends DIRECT questions only. Indirect questions (*I wonder…*, *Can you tell me…*, *She asked whether…*) are statements and end with a [period](/tags/period).

Rule: does the sentence ASK a question with inverted word order? → question mark. Does it REPORT or embed a question inside a statement? → period.


# Question mark

**Direct question vs indirect question:** *Where is she?* (direct → ?) vs *I wonder where she is.* (indirect → period). The structural clue: direct questions invert (*is she*); indirect questions don't invert (*she is*) and are embedded in statements. Only direct questions get a question mark.

The **question mark** (?) ends direct questions. Indirect/reported questions are statements and take a [period](/tags/period).

Diagnostic: is there subject-auxiliary inversion? → direct question → ?. Is the question embedded inside *I wonder / She asked / Do you know*? → indirect → period.


Question Mark

See also