A question mark replaces a period at the end of a sentence when the sentence is a question. Sometimes, question marks are known as interrogation points.

Question words like who, when, where, why, what, which, and how indicate that a sentence is a question. If your sentence begins with one of those words, then it is most likely a question and should be ended with a question mark.

A question mark indicates to your readers that your sentence should be read as a question.

A grammar guru, style editor, and writing mentor in one package.

Try it for free!

Rules for Correctly Using Question Marks

Rule #1: You don't need to use a question mark in conjunction with other ending punctuation, like a period or an exclamation point.

• Incorrect example: How are you feeling?.
• Correct example: How are you feeling?

Rule #2: You should always capitalize the first letter the word directly after a question mark.

• Incorrect example: When are we leaving? my mom wants to go soon.
• Correct example: When are we leaving? My mom wants to go soon.

Rule #3: If you're writing a quoted question, you should put the question mark within the quotation marks.

• Incorrect example: "What's for dinner"? he asked.
• Correct example: "What's for dinner?" he asked.