94 English Grammar Demystifi ed
When question marks are used with quotations, their usage is a bit more compli-
cated, but very logical. Look at the following examples:
Did you know that Gwen said, “I’m a totally different person than the one I was
as a teen”?Gwen said, “Did you know that I’m a totally different person than the one I was
as a teen?”In the fi rst sentence, the question refers to the entire sentence, not just the quoted
part, so the question mark is placed outside the quotes. In the second sentence, the
quoted portion is the question, so the question mark is placed inside the closing
quotation marks.
For the following exercises, review the previous examples and information to
confi rm the correct use of a question mark.
Written Practice 4-3
In each of the following sentences, fi nd and correct the errors in the use of
question marks.
- Was it Marco who said, “Our train leaves at 10 P.M.?”
- “Do you think the weather is warm enough to plant fl owers,” Elsa asked?
- The doctor’s assistant asked, “May I have your insurance card.”?
- The patient wondered if the secretary would require some form of ID as
well? - I asked my daughter, “When will you ever be on time for our
appointments”?
Written Practice 4-4
In the following paragraphs, insert or delete question marks wherever necessary.
Paragraph 1
My friend asked, “Have you heard about the link of lead exposure to Alzheimer’s
disease” She had just read the study from the University of Rhode Island that found
a link between early exposure to lead in the environment and the onset of Alzheim-
er’s disease much later in life? The scientists cautioned lead poisoning patients not