Question mark needed?

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Kooyeen

#396729 Wed, 25 Jul 07 10:44 PM

Pucca wrote:

I wonder how your sister destroyed the ring

What?

I would never put a question mark in that sentence, it wouldn't make any sense.
I use punctuation to modify the rhytm and intonation a little... like, uh, yeah, like this. This? Yep, this! Sure? Yes!!!
So a question mark always indicates the kind of intonation of questions to me, and that is not a question, and doesn't have a question intonation either.

I wonder... how did your sister destroy the ring? <-- question
I wonder how your sister distroyed the ring. <--- not a question

Some people say valley girls always talk as if they were asking questions, so they say "Hello? My name is Pamela? I live in LA?", but that's not true, because their intonation is actually different from the one of normal questions. Smile [:)]

Kooyeen

Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005

Italy

Senior Member (3,973)

If you don't have a sense of humor already, it's about time you buy one.

Punctuation, Intonations, Question marks

Pucca

#396733 Wed, 25 Jul 07 10:51 PM

Yeap, when do you pronounce the question marks with 'wonder' if they are pronounced?

It sounds like making a double question (I don't know how to say it).. Thinking [*-)]

Pucca

Joined on Sun, Aug 27 2006

Senior Member (2,914)

¿Alguna vez has tenido un sueño tan real que al despertarte no sabías qué creer?

Question marks

Kooyeen

#396735 Wed, 25 Jul 07 10:59 PM

I could use a question mark in this case:

- I wonder if saying "Are you have some egg?" is correct.
- You wonder if that is correct? How can you not know that? You're an English teacher! You're supposed to know everything!

That would be repeating something because you are surprised. However, the intonation is a little different from the one of a normal question, you are surprised... Smile [:)]

Kooyeen

Intonations, Question marks

Pucca

#396737 Wed, 25 Jul 07 11:06 PM

I think I understood that one, Kooyeen, seems that the question mark sounds well there..but, what about my sentence? The 'I wonder how your sister destroyed the ring?', how is that pronounced? As a question? Or, in a normal way? Tongue Tied [:S]

Molte grazie! (Hope I wrore it well this time!)

Pucca

Question marks

Kooyeen

#396742 Wed, 25 Jul 07 11:22 PM

Pucca wrote:
I think I understood that one, Kooyeen, seems that the question mark sounds well there..but, what about my sentence? The 'I wonder how your sister destroyed the ring?', how is that pronounced? As a question? Or, in a normal way?

Hmm, I wouldn't use the question mark, and I think I'd pronounce this...
I wonder how your sister destroyed the ring.
...more or less the same way as this...
I saw your blond sister steal a ring.

It's not a question... But that could be said in a lot of different ways, depending on... intonation! I think I usually understand intonation, my real problem is stress, it takes a lot of time, years, maybe hundreds of years! (Well, let's hope not, LOL)

Prego (= You're welcome) Smile [:)]

Kooyeen

Intonations, Question marks

Pucca

#396748 Wed, 25 Jul 07 11:34 PM

But, some natived do write them, haven't you seen them here aswell? I have seen them so many times and when I read it in a book, I told myself that I couldn't stay wondering, that I had to ask it!

I wouldn't put the question mark either, but, if that makes the speech more informal, why not? I think, the English we learn from the schools or academies will sound weird to the natives once you go to that country..I got to that point because once I read here that 'in my opinion' was a bit weird, it surprized me since I was taught to use that one much earlier than 'I reckon', but, I gave it up more or less.

(You didn't say anything, does that mean that I wrote it well? Stick out tongue [:P] )

Pucca

Question marks

Kooyeen

#396762 Thu, 26 Jul 07 12:15 AM

I think I've never seen a question mark in those kind of sentences... non natives maybe put it at the end. Maybe natives do too, but because they can't write, not because they don't know English and can't speak.

Pucca wrote:
I wouldn't put the question mark either, but, if that makes the speech more informal, why not? I think, the English we learn from the schools or academies will sound weird to the natives once you go to that country..I got to that point because once I read here that 'in my opinion' was a bit weird, it surprized me since I was taught to use that one much earlier than 'I reckon', but, I gave it up more or less.

Yes, that's true, that's why I always want answers from a descriptive point of view, and I want to try to focus even more on spoken English. Most ESL student focus too much on grammar rules and written English. That's why among ESL students you find a lot of grammar geniuses how can hardly speak and often come out with very odd or overly formal expressions. This is mostly teachers' fault anyway... everything is test-oriented, so if you say "If I were..." you'll get a "Good boy, here's a cookie", if you say "I'm gonna..." you'll only get a "That's a bad boy, bad boy..." Smile [:)]

But this is another matter, native speakers don't pronounce indirect questions as direct questions, as far as I know.

Kooyeen

Grammar, Expressions, Question marks, Indirect questions, Direct questions

Pucca

#396770 Thu, 26 Jul 07 12:32 AM

Kooyeen wrote:
I think I've never seen a question mark in those kind of sentences... non natives maybe put it at the end. Maybe natives do too, but because they can't write, not because they don't know English and can't speak.

How come you haven't? Oh, I have seen them so many times in the Grammar Section while they are asking something, natives. Crying [:'(]

I'm so sure of it! And, that book was written by a native speaker..so, you have seen it!

Kooyeen wrote:

descriptive point of view

Do you know I don't know what this is? Although I have read that thread, I don't understand what it is!

Kooyeen wrote:

But this is another matter, native speakers don't pronounce indirect questions as direct questions, as far as I know.

Hmm..I am not sure if I understand this, what does it mean? That they don't pronounce it as questions? I wouldn't pronounce 'I wonder how your sister destroyed the ring' as a question either, just the way it's written, but, what about 'I wonder how your sister destroyed the ring?', is it said the same way of the other? ..because, it sounds weird to me, maybe because I have never been much interested in the pronunciation, but, this time, I wonder! Smile [:)]