Some sentences ask something: “Where is my hat?” “Can we go to the park?” Someone could answer them. They are called asking sentences, or questions.
An asking sentence ends with a question mark (?) instead of a period.
Key idea
An asking sentence asks something. It ends with a question mark.
Why it works
When we ask aloud, our voice often goes up at the end. A reader can’t hear your voice, so the question mark shows that you are asking and waiting for an answer.
Worked example: Asking or telling?
“I wonder what is in the box”
- It has the word what in it.
- But it tells what you are wondering. Nobody has to answer.
- So it is a telling sentence, and it ends with a period.
Answer: “I wonder what is in the box.”
Worked example: Add the end mark
“What is in the box”
- This one asks. Someone could answer, “A puppy!”
- So it ends with a question mark.
Answer: “What is in the box?”
Common mistake
Seeing a question word like where, who or what and adding a question mark. Words like these can sit inside a telling sentence too: “I know where the ball is.” Ask: does the sentence ask something?
For the grown-up. Play “ask it, tell it”: you say a telling sentence (“The dog is hungry.”) and your child turns it into a question (“Is the dog hungry?”), then writes both with the right marks.