wholegrain  +  933396 Thu, 08 Oct 09 11:22 AM Well, I couldn't even remember going there. I remembered one minute I was downtown New York, looking across the river. I did that a lot. And then I was there. I don't remember crossing the river at all. I was drunk, you know. * * * * * You know how it is? Double bourbons and keep them coming. And after a while the bartender stops bringing me the ginger ale because gradually I forget to mix them. I got pretty loaded long before I left New York. I realize that. I guess I had to get pretty loaded to risk the pension and all. == Is "you know how it is?" a rhetorical question? Because it doesn't seem to be the case, but people argue otherwise. Shouldn't a rhetorical question lead to an obvious answer and have a persuasive effect? I don't know what persuasive effect it could possibly have here. wholegrain Joined on Thu, Jun 19 2008 Regular Member 534 Countries, United States

	Mister Micawber  +  933631 Thu, 08 Oct 09 02:47 PM It is not normally followed by a question mark; it is a discourse remark of unity of viewpoint: 'You know how it is– you always forget your umbrella the day it rains." But yes, it does not seem to be a real question in your text. Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,787 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.' Punctuation, Question Marks

	wholegrain  +  933672 Thu, 08 Oct 09 03:20 PM I think it's an error because a rhetorical question must assert or deny something: "the problem cannot be solved", "he has never done anything for me", "he was always there for me", or sometimes "it was unfortunate". wholegrain Mistakes