My Grammar and I (Or Should That Be 'Me'?): Old-School Ways to Sharpen Your English

F
RANCES
B
URNEY

---

Question: When do you use a question mark ?
Answer: At the end of a direct question, OK?
Well, we’d probably better go into just a little more detail.
Direct questions are things such as:
Where were you when I needed you?
When did you last see your father?
Who’s a pretty boy, then?
Indirect questions are things such as:
I wonder who’s kissing her now.
I didn’t hear what he said.
I know where you are coming from.
These sentences aren’t questions, they are statements: I wonder , I didn’t hear , I
know , so they don’t need a question mark.
Rule: A direct question needs a? ; an indirect question does not .
Hint: To spot an indirect question look out for the words ask or wonder  ,  often
followed by if .
A question in  the form of  a statement, known  as an  embedded question  ,  also
doesn’t  require  a  question  mark  either:  The  question  whether  children  learn
enough grammar remains to be answered.
Hint:  Look  out  for  the  words  whether  or  if  –  they  often  indicate  embedded
questions.
But The question is, ‘Do today’s children learn enough grammar?’ The opening
words plus the comma have set the scene for direct speech, and the direct speech
takes the form of a direct question. So – yes, you’ve guessed, go to the top of the
class – it needs a question mark.