In general, you can use your tone of voice (as discussed above) to determine where the question mark belongs. One of the most common times you’ll see upside-down question marks in the middle of a sentence is with tag questions, which are used to check on a fact that the speaker believes is true.Įres la prima de Pablo, ¿no? (You’re Pablo’s cousin, aren’t you?)Įsta camisa es nueva, ¿verdad? (This shirt is new, isn’t it?) If it’s not placed at the beginning of a sentence, it’s placed at the start of the actual question within the sentence. However, that doesn’t always mean that it’s placed at the beginning of a sentence. Take note: We said that the upside-down question mark is placed at the beginning of a question. Using the Upside-down Question Mark in the Middle of a Sentence
Backwards question mark movie#
Still, expect to see the upside-down question mark in books, standard writing and even in movie subtitles. When texting, using WhatsApp or writing informally, Spanish speakers won’t always use it, and you probably don’t have to, either. You may notice that the upside-down question mark is becoming less common in casual writing. ❺ qué hora llegaron a la fiesta? (What time did you all arrive to the party?) You need to put upside-down question marks at the beginning of a question as well as at the end of one. Just remember that when you’re asking a written question in Spanish, you’ll need to use two question marks.
Backwards question mark how to#
(The bus is very late.) → ❾l autobús llega muy tarde? (Is the bus very late?) How to Use Upside-down Question Marks (You speak English.) → ¿Hablas inglés? (Do you speak English?)Įl autobús llega muy tarde. ) → ¿Juan va a la florería? (Is Juan going to the flower shop?) Raising your speaking tone turns a statement into a question and the upside-down question marks indicates that you should do so. It signifies that the passage is a question, rather than a statement, so readers know to raise their tone if speaking the written words aloud. This punctuation symbol shows where to raise the tone in a sentence or phrase. ¿Pasarías la sal? (Would you pass the salt?) → ¿La sal? (The salt?) To Signify a Spot to Raise Speaking Tone ❼uándo llega el tren? (When is the train arriving?) → ❾l tren? (The train?) ❽ónde está el baño? (Where is the bathroom?) → ❾l baño? (The bathroom?) The tone shows that a question is being asked and the (missing) interrogative word is implied-and understood. But shortening a question often conveys the message without losing its meaning, even without an interrogative word at its beginning. Most of the time we use an interrogative word at the beginning of a question. The commonly used Spanish interrogative words are: The upside-down question mark can also take the place of interrogative words. To Take the Place of an Interrogative Word (Download) What’s Up with the Spanish Upside-down Question Mark? The Mystery, Explained
Backwards question mark pdf#
The Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy), the entity that oversees the Spanish language, actually began using them in 1754-so they’re nothing new to this beautiful language!ĭownload: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬan take anywhere. They’ve been used for centuries without difficulty. There’s no real secret to mastering the upside-down Spanish question mark. More importantly, how do we use them?ĭon’t worry. You’re probably wondering just what those upside-down question marks are. It’s all ho-hum until that upside-down question mark shows up, isn’t it?Īnd that’s where the mystery comes in. So, no news in the Spanish punctuation department, right?Īctually, there’s one small bit of punctuation news. By Anna Maria What’s Up with the Spanish Upside-down Question Mark? The Mystery, Explainedįor English speakers, Spanish punctuation is pretty standard.Ī period is still a period, even if it’s called a punto.Ī coma (comma) still shows a division of ideas or a pause in dialogue.