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"question mark"

From Richard Nordquist,
Your Guide to Grammar & Composition.
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Definition:

A punctuation symbol (?) written at the end of a sentence or phrase to indicate a direct question.

Examples and Observations:

  • "How can you come to know yourself? Never by thinking, always by doing. Try to do your duty, and you'll know right away what you amount to."
    (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)


  • "You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'"
    (George Bernard Shaw, Back to Methuselah, 1921)


  • "How can you govern a country that has 246 varieties of cheese?"
    (Charles De Gaulle, President of France, 1958-1969)


  • "Ever tried? Ever failed? No Matter, try again, fail again, fail better."
    (Samuel Beckett)


  • "Take your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame."
    (Erica Jong)


  • "Apple's market share is bigger than BMW's or Mercedes's or Porsche's in the automotive market. What's wrong with being BMW or Mercedes?"
    (Steve Jobs)


  • "If you shoot at mimes, should you use a silencer?"
    (Steven Wright)


  • "If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?"
    (Scott Adams)
Also Known As: interrogation point
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