The Nha Trang Oceanography Institute is a captivating destination for individuals of different ages. Question marks (¿?) Visually indicate inquiries: they are the written representation of interrogative intonation.

The question marks are double, that is, direct questions are framed between the opening sign (¿) and the closing sign (?), In Spanish.

Por ejemplo:…………..

How do you feel?

Tomorrow is your birthday, right?

Let’s go to the park, do you want to come?

Question marks are used to visually identify where a direct question begins and ends.

The interrogative intonation is useful because it announces to the reader that it must give an interrogative intonation to the sentence, avoiding confusion, which is the only distinguishing feature in many cases.

In summary, question marks serve the purpose of indicating intonation (melodic curve) and the modality of the sentence.

Por ejemplo:…………..

¿Está lloviendo.?

Está lloviendo.

¡Está lloviendo.!

Correcta utilización de los signos de interrogación

Below, we provide answers to the most common questions about the usage of question marks.

¿Es preciso abrir y cerrar el signo de interrogación?

Does the appropriate intonation make and the reader recognize the question that the use of the closing and opening sign is necessary?

On the other hand, dual symbols are a characteristic of Spanish orthography.

La omisión del signo de apertura se considera una falta ortográfica. Es recomendable evitarla, sobre todo si se trata de escritura formal.

Por ejemplo:…………..

Instead of saying “Hello. How are you?”, It’s better to write “Hello. How are you?”

Instead of “Es un escándalo, no les parece?”, It is better to write: “Es un escándalo, ¿no les parece?”

Instead of saying “Ya nos vinieron a buscar, están listos?”, It’s better to write “Ya nos vinieron a buscar, ¿están listos?”

¿Qué separación se utiliza entre el signo y las palabras?

Do not leave any space between words and question marks. Also, do not leave any space between any other punctuation marks and closing marks.

In contrast, the signs of what is outside the question (before and after) are separated by a space.Output: On the other hand, the indications of what is outside the question (before and after) are divided by a space.

Por ejemplo:…………..

I need a pencil, are you using this one?

¿Tardará mucho?, No puedo seguir esperando.Output: Will it take long? I can’t keep waiting.

¿Dónde se coloca el signo de apertura?

The question mark is placed exactly at the beginning of the sentence. This is an independent sentence. If it starts with a capital letter, then it is part of a longer sentence or clause and is written with a lowercase letter.

Por ejemplo:…………..

Do you have a few minutes? I want to talk to you.

If you’re not too busy, could you come by my house this afternoon?

What is included between both question marks?

The boundaries of the question are indicated by interrogation signs, even if the statement is lengthier. In such instances, there exist components that are not included within the interrogation.

The sentence can contain, in addition to the question, an appelative or vocative, a discursive connector, an introduction or complement.

If those elements are placed before, they remain outside of the question.

Por ejemplo:…………..

Friend, shall we have a coffee?

Regarding the new album, is there anything you can disclose to the public?

If those elements are at the end, they remain within the question.

Por ejemplo:…………..

Shall we have a coffee, friend?

Is there anything you can disclose to the public about the upcoming album?

¿Puede haber otro símbolo de puntuación después del cierre?

Apart from the period, any other punctuation mark may be written after the closing sign.

The next sentence begins with a capital letter. In that sentence, the closing is equivalent to the closing sign, either a period or a closing parenthesis.

Por ejemplo:…………..

Shall we pause? We have already advanced significantly on this project.

The Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography is a captivating place to visit for people of all ages.Output: The Oceanography Institute in Nha Trang is an enthralling destination for individuals of various age groups.

¿Cuál es la forma correcta de redactar una serie de preguntas?

It acts as a point and each question starts with a capital closing sign if there are consecutive questions, but they are considered independent.

Por ejemplo:…………..

What is she like? Where did you meet her? When do you invite her to the house?

With a comma, questions are separated and written in lowercase if they are considered as part of the same sentence; otherwise, they are written in lowercase.

Por ejemplo:…………..

Tell me, how was the trip? Where did you go? What did you eat?

¿Es posible combinar los signos de interrogación y exclamación?

The combined signs express that a sentence has both an interrogative and exclamatory meaning at the same time.

Puede usarse un signo para abrir y otro para cerrar.Output: Se puede utilizar un símbolo para abrir y otro para cerrar.

Por ejemplo:…………..

How can you say that, José María?

How dare you come to my house!

What is happening here?

Or, more advisable, both in the same opening and closing order.

Por ejemplo:…………..

How dare you say that, José María?!

How dare you come to my house?!

What is happening here?!

¿Cuándo se utiliza exclusivamente el signo de cierre?

El signo de cierre de interrogación se utiliza solo en dos casos: para expresar ironía y para indicar fechas dudosas o faltantes.

To express irony or doubt: the closing sign is used, alone and in parentheses, next to the statement.

Por ejemplo:…………..

They are going to give Juan the punctuality award (?). Once again, he arrived late.

Voy a hacerme rico con el sueldo que gano (?).Output: Espero enriquecerme con el salario que recibo (?).

The date of imprecision or lack indicates the closure of the sign, the question of how to enclose the date can also be, although: missing or doubtful dates indicate in order to.

Por ejemplo:…………..

Juan de La Vega (? – 1574).

Juan de La Vega (1507? – 1547).

Juan de La Vega (¿1507? – 1547).

Also, check out Punctuation Marks.