Definition:
A sentence that asks a question. (Compare with sentences that make a statement, deliver a command, or express an exclamation.) See also:
- Direct Question
- Indirect Question
- Queclarative
- Tag Question
- Rhetorical Question
- Basic Sentence Structures
Examples:
- "What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?"
(Henry David Thoreau) - "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?"
(Lewis Carroll) - Cletus: [after showing Cargill a trick with his thumb] "You want to know how I do it?"
Russ Cargill: "Four generations of inbreeding?"
(The Simpsons Movie, 2007) - "If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?"
(Vince Lombardi) - "In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the . . . Anyone? Anyone? . . the Great Depression, passed the . . . Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Which, anyone? Raised or lowered? . . . raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government. Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression. Today we have a similar debate over this. Anyone know what this is? Class? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before? The Laffer Curve. Anyone know what this says? It says that at this point on the revenue curve, you will get exactly the same amount of revenue as at this point. This is very controversial. Does anyone know what Vice President Bush called this in 1980? Anyone? Something -d-o-o economics. 'Voodoo' economics."
(Ben Stein in the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off) - "What is . . . the essence of coffee?"
(advertising slogan for Yuban Coffee) - "If you shoot at mimes, should you use a silencer?
(Steven Wright) - "I did a radio interview; the DJ's first question was 'Who are you?' I had to think. Is this guy really deep, or did I drive to the wrong station?"
(Mitch Hedberg)
Pronunciation: inte-ROG-eh-tiv SEN-tens
