CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Question - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"cbd58838-378d-4402-9c37-fcced41363b4","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Question","wgTitle":"Question","wgCurRevisionId":1257472178,"wgRevisionId":1257472178,"wgArticleId":502038,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Articles with short description","Short description is different from Wikidata","Articles containing Japanese-language text","Articles containing Chinese-language text","All articles with unsourced statements","Articles with unsourced statements from June 2021","Grammar","Human communication","Interrogative words and phrases","Sentences by type"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Question","wgRelevantArticleId":502038, "wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":20000,"wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q189756","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"], "GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","mediawiki.page.media","site","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups", "ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.quicksurveys.init","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.5"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif/1200px-Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1754"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif/800px-Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1169"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif/640px-Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="936"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Question - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Question rootpage-Question skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Question" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Question" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Question" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Question" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Definitions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Definitions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Definitions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Definitions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Uses" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Uses"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Uses</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Uses-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Semantic_classification" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Semantic_classification"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Semantic classification</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Semantic_classification-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Semantic classification subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Semantic_classification-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Yes–no_questions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Yes–no_questions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Yes–no questions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Yes–no_questions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Alternative_questions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Alternative_questions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Alternative questions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Alternative_questions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Open_questions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Open_questions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>Open questions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Open_questions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Question_formation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Question_formation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Question formation</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Question_formation-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Question formation subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Question_formation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Open_questions_2" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Open_questions_2"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Open questions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Open_questions_2-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Polar_questions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Polar_questions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>Polar questions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Polar_questions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Intonation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Intonation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.1</span> <span>Intonation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Intonation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Request_for_confirmation_and_speaker_presupposition" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Request_for_confirmation_and_speaker_presupposition"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.2</span> <span>Request for confirmation and speaker presupposition</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Request_for_confirmation_and_speaker_presupposition-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Punctuation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Punctuation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3</span> <span>Punctuation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Punctuation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Responses_and_answers" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Responses_and_answers"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Responses and answers</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Responses_and_answers-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Responses and answers subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Responses_and_answers-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Answering_negative_questions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Answering_negative_questions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1</span> <span>Answering negative questions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Answering_negative_questions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Indirect_questions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Indirect_questions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Indirect questions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Indirect_questions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Learning" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Learning"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Learning</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Learning-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Origins" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Origins"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Origins</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Origins-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Question</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 53 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-53" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">53 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%D8%A4%D8%A7%D9%84" title="سؤال – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="سؤال" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sual" title="Sual – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Sual" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bcl mw-list-item"><a href="https://bcl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapot" title="Hapot – Central Bikol" lang="bcl" hreflang="bcl" data-title="Hapot" data-language-autonym="Bikol Central" data-language-local-name="Central Bikol" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bikol Central</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregunta" title="Pregunta – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Pregunta" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cv mw-list-item"><a href="https://cv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%AB%D0%B9%D1%82%D1%83" title="Ыйту – Chuvash" lang="cv" hreflang="cv" data-title="Ыйту" data-language-autonym="Чӑвашла" data-language-local-name="Chuvash" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Чӑвашла</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ot%C3%A1zka" title="Otázka – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Otázka" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp%C3%B8rgsm%C3%A5l" title="Spørgsmål – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Spørgsmål" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frage" title="Frage – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Frage" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregunta" title="Pregunta – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Pregunta" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demando" title="Demando – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Demando" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%BE%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%B4" title="پرسش – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="پرسش" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrogation" title="Interrogation – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Interrogation" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%A7%88%EB%AC%B8" title="질문 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="질문" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hy mw-list-item"><a href="https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D5%80%D5%A1%D6%80%D6%81" title="Հարց – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="Հարց" data-language-autonym="Հայերեն" data-language-local-name="Armenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Հայերեն</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A8" title="प्रश्न – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="प्रश्न" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertanyaan" title="Pertanyaan – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Pertanyaan" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-is mw-list-item"><a href="https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spurning" title="Spurning – Icelandic" lang="is" hreflang="is" data-title="Spurning" data-language-autonym="Íslenska" data-language-local-name="Icelandic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Íslenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrogazione_(linguistica)" title="Interrogazione (linguistica) – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Interrogazione (linguistica)" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%94" title="שאלה – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="שאלה" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kn mw-list-item"><a href="https://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%AA%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%B0%E0%B2%B6%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%A8%E0%B3%86" title="ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ – Kannada" lang="kn" hreflang="kn" data-title="ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ" data-language-autonym="ಕನ್ನಡ" data-language-local-name="Kannada" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ಕನ್ನಡ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kk mw-list-item"><a href="https://kk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D2%B1%D1%80%D0%B0%D2%9B" title="Сұрақ – Kazakh" lang="kk" hreflang="kk" data-title="Сұрақ" data-language-autonym="Қазақша" data-language-local-name="Kazakh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Қазақша</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sw mw-list-item"><a href="https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swali" title="Swali – Swahili" lang="sw" hreflang="sw" data-title="Swali" data-language-autonym="Kiswahili" data-language-local-name="Swahili" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Kiswahili</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ky mw-list-item"><a href="https://ky.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BE" title="Суроо – Kyrgyz" lang="ky" hreflang="ky" data-title="Суроо" data-language-autonym="Кыргызча" data-language-local-name="Kyrgyz" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Кыргызча</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lv mw-list-item"><a href="https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaut%C4%81jums" title="Jautājums – Latvian" lang="lv" hreflang="lv" data-title="Jautājums" data-language-autonym="Latviešu" data-language-local-name="Latvian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latviešu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A9rd%C3%A9s" title="Kérdés – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Kérdés" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mn mw-list-item"><a href="https://mn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%81%D1%83%D1%83%D0%BB%D1%82" title="Асуулт – Mongolian" lang="mn" hreflang="mn" data-title="Асуулт" data-language-autonym="Монгол" data-language-local-name="Mongolian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Монгол</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vraag_(taal)" title="Vraag (taal) – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Vraag (taal)" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B3%AA%E5%95%8F" title="質問 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="質問" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp%C3%B8rsm%C3%A5l" title="Spørsmål – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Spørsmål" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pnb mw-list-item"><a href="https://pnb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84" title="سوال – Western Punjabi" lang="pnb" hreflang="pnb" data-title="سوال" data-language-autonym="پنجابی" data-language-local-name="Western Punjabi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>پنجابی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ps mw-list-item"><a href="https://ps.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%BE%D9%88%DA%9A%D8%AA%D9%86%D9%87" title="پوښتنه – Pashto" lang="ps" hreflang="ps" data-title="پوښتنه" data-language-autonym="پښتو" data-language-local-name="Pashto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>پښتو</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pytanie" title="Pytanie – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Pytanie" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pergunta" title="Pergunta – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Pergunta" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Entrebare" title="Întrebare – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Întrebare" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-qu mw-list-item"><a href="https://qu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapuy" title="Tapuy – Quechua" lang="qu" hreflang="qu" data-title="Tapuy" data-language-autonym="Runa Simi" data-language-local-name="Quechua" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Runa Simi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81" title="Вопрос – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Вопрос" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sq mw-list-item"><a href="https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyetja" title="Pyetja – Albanian" lang="sq" hreflang="sq" data-title="Pyetja" data-language-autonym="Shqip" data-language-local-name="Albanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Shqip</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-scn mw-list-item"><a href="https://scn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumanna_(richiesta)" title="Dumanna (richiesta) – Sicilian" lang="scn" hreflang="scn" data-title="Dumanna (richiesta)" data-language-autonym="Sicilianu" data-language-local-name="Sicilian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Sicilianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question" title="Question – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Question" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ot%C3%A1zka" title="Otázka – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Otázka" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-so mw-list-item"><a href="https://so.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weydiin" title="Weydiin – Somali" lang="so" hreflang="so" data-title="Weydiin" data-language-autonym="Soomaaliga" data-language-local-name="Somali" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Soomaaliga</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%9A%D0%B5" title="Питање – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Питање" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A5ga" title="Fråga – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Fråga" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tl mw-list-item"><a href="https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanong" title="Tanong – Tagalog" lang="tl" hreflang="tl" data-title="Tanong" data-language-autonym="Tagalog" data-language-local-name="Tagalog" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tagalog</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ta mw-list-item"><a href="https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%87%E0%AE%B3%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%BF" title="கேள்வி – Tamil" lang="ta" hreflang="ta" data-title="கேள்வி" data-language-autonym="தமிழ்" data-language-local-name="Tamil" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>தமிழ்</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kab mw-list-item"><a href="https://kab.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aseqsi" title="Aseqsi – Kabyle" lang="kab" hreflang="kab" data-title="Aseqsi" data-language-autonym="Taqbaylit" data-language-local-name="Kabyle" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Taqbaylit</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-te mw-list-item"><a href="https://te.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B0%AA%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%B6%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%A8" title="ప్రశ్న – Telugu" lang="te" hreflang="te" data-title="ప్రశ్న" data-language-autonym="తెలుగు" data-language-local-name="Telugu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>తెలుగు</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%96%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1" title="คำถาม – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="คำถาม" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soru" title="Soru – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Soru" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8F" title="Питання – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Питання" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-war mw-list-item"><a href="https://war.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paki-ana" title="Paki-ana – Waray" lang="war" hreflang="war" data-title="Paki-ana" data-language-autonym="Winaray" data-language-local-name="Waray" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Winaray</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%95%8F%E5%8F%A5" title="問句 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="問句" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>粵語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%95%8F%E5%8F%A5" title="問句 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="問句" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q189756#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Question" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Question" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Question"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Question"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Question" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Question" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&oldid=1257472178" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Question&id=1257472178&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FQuestion"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FQuestion"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Question&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-commons mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Questions" hreflang="en"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></a></li><li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikiquote mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Question" hreflang="en"><span>Wikiquote</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q189756" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Request for information</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/Question_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Question (disambiguation)">Question (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"Asking" redirects here. For the song by Sonny Fodera and MK, see <a href="/wiki/Asking_(song)" title="Asking (song)">Asking (song)</a>.</div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="A question mark made of smaller question marks" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif/220px-Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif" decoding="async" width="220" height="322" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif/330px-Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif/440px-Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif 2x" data-file-width="2932" data-file-height="4286" /></a><figcaption>A question mark made of smaller question marks</figcaption></figure> <p>A <b>question</b> is an <a href="/wiki/Utterance" title="Utterance">utterance</a> which serves as a request for <a href="/wiki/Information" title="Information">information</a>. Questions are sometimes distinguished from <a href="/wiki/Interrogative" title="Interrogative">interrogatives</a>, which are the <a href="/wiki/Grammar" title="Grammar">grammatical</a> forms, typically used to express them. <a href="/wiki/Rhetorical_question" title="Rhetorical question">Rhetorical questions</a>, for instance, are interrogative in form but may not be considered <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bona_fide" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:bona fide">bona fide</a> questions, as they are not expected to be answered. </p><p>Questions come in a number of varieties. For instance; <i><a href="/wiki/Polar_question" class="mw-redirect" title="Polar question">Polar questions</a></i> are those such as the <a href="/wiki/English_language" title="English language">English</a> example "Is this a polar question?", which can be answered with <a href="/wiki/Yes_and_no" title="Yes and no">"yes" or "no"</a>. <i>Alternative questions</i> such as "Is this a polar question, or an alternative question?" present a list of possibilities to choose from. <i><a href="/wiki/Open-ended_question" title="Open-ended question">Open questions</a></i> such as "What kind of question is this?" allow many possible resolutions. </p><p>Questions are widely studied in <a href="/wiki/Linguistics" title="Linguistics">linguistics</a> and <a href="/wiki/Philosophy_of_language" title="Philosophy of language">philosophy of language</a>. In the subfield of <a href="/wiki/Pragmatics" title="Pragmatics">pragmatics</a>, questions are regarded as <a href="/wiki/Illocutionary_act" title="Illocutionary act">illocutionary acts</a> which raise an issue to be resolved in <a href="/wiki/Discourse" title="Discourse">discourse</a>. In approaches to <a href="/wiki/Formal_semantics_(natural_language)" title="Formal semantics (natural language)">formal semantics</a> such as <a href="/wiki/Alternative_semantics" title="Alternative semantics">alternative semantics</a> or <a href="/wiki/Inquisitive_semantics" title="Inquisitive semantics">inquisitive semantics</a>, questions are regarded as the <a href="/wiki/Denotation" title="Denotation">denotations</a> of interrogatives, and are typically identified as <a href="/wiki/Set_(mathematics)" title="Set (mathematics)">sets</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Proposition" title="Proposition">propositions</a> which answer them. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Definitions">Definitions</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Definitions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Linguistically, a question may be defined on three levels. </p><p>At the level of <a href="/wiki/Semantics" title="Semantics">semantics</a>, a question is defined by its ability to establish a set of logically possible answers.<sup id="cite_ref-CGEL_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CGEL-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>At the level of <a href="/wiki/Pragmatics" title="Pragmatics">pragmatics</a>, a question is an <a href="/wiki/Illocutionary" class="mw-redirect" title="Illocutionary">illocutionary</a> category of speech act which seeks to obtain information from the addressee.<sup id="cite_ref-CGEL_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CGEL-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>At the level of <a href="/wiki/Syntax" title="Syntax">syntax</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Interrogative" title="Interrogative">interrogative</a> is a type of clause which is characteristically associated with questions, and defined by certain grammatical rules (such as <a href="/wiki/Subject%E2%80%93auxiliary_inversion" title="Subject–auxiliary inversion">subject–auxiliary inversion</a> in English) which vary by language. </p><p>Some authors conflate these definitions. While prototypical questions (such as "What is your name?") will satisfy all three definitions, their overlap is not complete. For example "I would like to know your name." satisfies the pragmatic definition, but not the semantic or syntactic ones. Such mismatches of form and function are called <a href="/wiki/Indirect_speech_acts" class="mw-redirect" title="Indirect speech acts">indirect speech acts</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Uses">Uses</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Uses"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:A_Question_of_Honor_(1922)_-_7.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="A man asking a woman a question" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/A_Question_of_Honor_%281922%29_-_7.jpg/220px-A_Question_of_Honor_%281922%29_-_7.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="259" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/A_Question_of_Honor_%281922%29_-_7.jpg/330px-A_Question_of_Honor_%281922%29_-_7.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/A_Question_of_Honor_%281922%29_-_7.jpg/440px-A_Question_of_Honor_%281922%29_-_7.jpg 2x" data-file-width="502" data-file-height="590" /></a><figcaption>A man asking a woman a question</figcaption></figure> <p>The principal use of questions is to elicit information from the person being addressed by indicating the information which the speaker (or writer) desires.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A slight variant is the <a href="/wiki/Display_question" class="mw-redirect" title="Display question">display question</a>, where the addressee is asked to produce information which is already known to the speaker.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For example, a teacher or game show host might ask "What is the capital of Australia?" to test the knowledge of a student or contestant. </p><p>A direction question is one that seeks an instruction rather than factual information. It differs from a typical ("information") question in that the characteristic response is a directive rather than a declarative statement.<sup id="cite_ref-CGEL_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CGEL-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For example: </p> <dl><dd>A: When should I open your gift?</dd> <dd>B: Open it now.</dd></dl> <p>Questions may also be used as the basis for a number of indirect speech acts. For example, the <a href="/wiki/Imperative_sentence" class="mw-redirect" title="Imperative sentence">imperative sentence</a> "Pass the salt." can be reformulated (somewhat more politely) as: </p> <dl><dd>Would you pass the salt?</dd></dl> <p>Which has the form of an interrogative, but the illocutionary force of a directive. </p><p>The term <a href="/wiki/Rhetorical_question" title="Rhetorical question">rhetorical question</a> may be colloquially applied to a number of uses of questions where the speaker does not seek or expect an answer (perhaps because the answer is implied or obvious), such as: </p> <dl><dd>Has he lost his mind?</dd> <dd>Why have I brought you all here? Let me explain...</dd> <dd>They're closed? But the website said it was open until 10 o'clock.</dd></dl> <p><a href="/wiki/Loaded_question" title="Loaded question">Loaded questions</a> (a special case of <a href="/wiki/Complex_question" title="Complex question">complex questions</a>), such as "Have you stopped beating your wife?" may be used as a joke or to embarrass an audience, because any answer a person could give would imply more information than he was willing to affirm. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Semantic_classification">Semantic classification</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Semantic classification"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The main semantic classification of questions is according to the set of logically possible answers that they admit. An open question, such as "What is your name?", allows indefinitely many possible answers. A closed question admits a finite number of possible answers. Closed questions may be further subdivided into yes–no questions (such as "Are you hungry?") and alternative questions (such as "Do you want jam or marmalade?"). </p><p>The distinction between these classes tends to be grammaticalized. In English, open and closed <a href="/wiki/Interrogative_word" title="Interrogative word">interrogatives</a> are distinct clause types characteristically associated with open and closed questions, respectively. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Yes–no_questions"><span id="Yes.E2.80.93no_questions"></span>Yes–no questions</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Yes–no questions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Yes%E2%80%93no_question" title="Yes–no question">Yes–no question</a></div> <p>A <i>yes–no question</i> (also called a <i>polar question</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-CGEL_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CGEL-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> or <i>general question</i><sup id="cite_ref-Chisholm_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Chisholm-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>) asks whether some statement is true. They can, in principle be answered by a <a href="/wiki/Yes_and_no" title="Yes and no">"yes" or "no"</a> (or similar words or expressions in other languages). Examples include "Do you take sugar?", "Should they be believed?" and "Am I the loneliest person in the world?" </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Alternative_questions">Alternative questions</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Alternative questions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>An <i>alternative question</i><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> presents two or more discrete choices as possible answers in an assumption that only one of them is true. For example: </p> <dl><dd>Are you supporting England, Ireland or Wales?</dd></dl> <p>The canonical expected answer to such a question would be either "England", "Ireland", or "Wales". Such an alternative question <a href="/wiki/Presupposes" class="mw-redirect" title="Presupposes">presupposes</a> that the addressee supports one of these three teams. The addressee may <a href="/wiki/Cancellation_(linguistics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Cancellation (linguistics)">cancel</a> this presupposition with an answer like "None of them". </p><p>In English, alternative questions are not syntactically distinguished from yes–no questions. Depending on context, the same question may have either interpretation: </p> <ul><li>Do these muffins have butter or margarine? [I'm on a low fat diet.]</li> <li>Do these muffins have butter or margarine? [I saw that the recipe said you could use either.]</li></ul> <p>In speech, these are distinguishable by <a href="/wiki/Intonation_(linguistics)" title="Intonation (linguistics)">intonation</a>, i.e., the question is interpreted as an alternative question when uttered with a rising contour on "butter" and a falling contour on "margarine". </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Open_questions">Open questions<span id="wh"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Open questions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>An <i>open question</i> (also called a <i>variable question</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-CGEL_1-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CGEL-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <i>non-polar question</i>, or <i>special question</i><sup id="cite_ref-Chisholm_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Chisholm-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>) admits indefinitely many possible answers. For example: </p> <dl><dd>Where should we go for lunch?</dd></dl> <p>In English, these are typically embodied in a closed interrogative clause, which uses an <a href="/wiki/Interrogative_word" title="Interrogative word">interrogative word</a> such as <i>when</i>, <i>who</i>, or <i>what</i>. These are also called <i>wh</i>-words, and for this reason open questions may also be called <i>wh</i>-questions. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Question_formation">Question formation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Question formation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Questions may be marked by some combination of word order, <a href="/wiki/Morphology_(linguistics)" title="Morphology (linguistics)">morphology</a>, interrogative words, and <a href="/wiki/Intonation_(linguistics)" title="Intonation (linguistics)">intonation</a>. Where languages have one or more <a href="/wiki/Clause" title="Clause">clause</a> type characteristically used to form questions, they are called <a href="/wiki/Interrogative" title="Interrogative">interrogative</a> clauses. Open and closed questions are generally distinguished grammatically, with the former identified by the use of <a href="/wiki/Interrogative_word" title="Interrogative word">interrogative words</a>. </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/English_grammar" title="English grammar">English</a>, <a href="/wiki/German_grammar" title="German grammar">German</a>, <a href="/wiki/French_grammar" title="French grammar">French</a> and various other (mostly European) languages, both forms of interrogative are subject to an <a href="/wiki/Inversion_(linguistics)" title="Inversion (linguistics)">inversion</a> of word order between verb and subject. In English, the inversion <a href="/wiki/Subject%E2%80%93auxiliary_inversion" title="Subject–auxiliary inversion">is limited to auxiliary verbs</a>, which sometimes necessitates <a href="/wiki/Do-support" title="Do-support">the addition of the auxiliary <i>do</i></a>, as in: </p> <dl><dd><dl><dd>a. Sam reads the newspaper. <span style="font-size:85%;">- Statement</span></dd> <dd>b. Does Sam read the newspaper? <span style="font-size:85%;">- Yes–no question formed using inversion and <i>do</i>-support</span></dd></dl></dd></dl> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Open_questions_2">Open questions</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Open questions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Open questions are formed by the use of <a href="/wiki/Interrogative_word" title="Interrogative word">interrogative words</a> such as, in English, <i>when</i>, <i>what</i>, or <i>which</i>. These stand in as variables representing the unknown information being sought. They may also combine with other words to form interrogative phrases, such as <i>which shoes</i> in: </p> <dl><dd>Which shoes should I wear to the party?</dd></dl> <p>In many languages, including English and most other European languages, the interrogative phrase must (with certain exceptions such as <a href="/wiki/Echo_questions" class="mw-redirect" title="Echo questions">echo questions</a>) appear at the beginning of the sentence, a phenomenon known as <a href="/wiki/Wh-fronting" class="mw-redirect" title="Wh-fronting">wh-fronting</a>. In other languages, the interrogative appears in the same position as it would in a corresponding declarative sentence (<i>in situ</i>).<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A question may include multiple variables as in: </p> <dl><dd>Whose gifts are in which boxes?</dd></dl> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Polar_questions">Polar questions</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Polar questions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Different languages may use different mechanisms to distinguish polar ("yes-no") questions from declarative statements (in addition to the <a href="/wiki/Question_mark" title="Question mark">question mark</a>). English is one of a small number of languages which use word order. Another example is French: </p> <table class="wikitable"> <caption> </caption> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th>French </th> <th>Translation </th></tr> <tr> <th>Declarative </th> <td><i>Vous avez tué un oiseau.</i> </td> <td>You have killed a bird. </td></tr> <tr> <th>Polar question </th> <td><i>Avez-vous tué un oiseau?</i> </td> <td>Have you killed a bird? </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Cross-linguistically, the most common method of marking a polar question is with an <a href="/wiki/Interrogative_particle" class="mw-redirect" title="Interrogative particle">interrogative particle</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-WALS-polar_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-WALS-polar-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> such as the <a href="/wiki/Japanese_language" title="Japanese language">Japanese</a> <span title="Japanese-language text"><span lang="ja">か</span></span> <i>ka</i>, <a href="/wiki/Standard_Mandarin" class="mw-redirect" title="Standard Mandarin">Mandarin</a> <span title="Chinese-language text"><span lang="zh">吗</span></span> <i>ma</i> and <a href="/wiki/Polish_grammar" title="Polish grammar">Polish</a> <i>czy</i>. </p><p>Other languages use verbal morphology, such as the <i>-n</i> verbal postfix in the <a href="/wiki/Tunica_language" title="Tunica language">Tunica language</a>. </p><p>Of the languages examined in the <a href="/wiki/World_Atlas_of_Language_Structures" title="World Atlas of Language Structures">World Atlas of Language Structures</a>, only one, <a href="/wiki/Atatl%C3%A1huca%E2%80%93San_Miguel_Mixtec" title="Atatláhuca–San Miguel Mixtec">Atatláhuca–San Miguel Mixtec</a>, was found to have no distinction between declaratives and polar questions.<sup id="cite_ref-WALS-polar_7-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-WALS-polar-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Intonation">Intonation</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Intonation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Most languages have an intonational pattern which is characteristic of questions (often involving a raised pitch at the end, as in English). </p><p>In some languages, such as <a href="/wiki/Italian_grammar" title="Italian grammar">Italian</a>, intonation is the sole distinction.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (June 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>In some languages, such as English, or Russian, a <a href="/wiki/Rising_declarative" title="Rising declarative">rising declarative</a> is a sentence which is syntactically declarative but is understood as a question by the use of a rising intonation. For example, "You're not using this?" </p><p>On the other hand, there are English dialects (Southern Californian English, New Zealand English) in which rising declaratives (the "<a href="/wiki/Uptalk" class="mw-redirect" title="Uptalk">uptalk</a>") do not constitute questions.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However it is established that in English <a href="/wiki/Rising_declarative" title="Rising declarative">there is a distinction</a> between <i>assertive</i> rising declaratives and <i>inquisitive</i> rising declaratives, distinguished by their <a href="/wiki/Prosody_(linguistics)" title="Prosody (linguistics)">prosody</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Request_for_confirmation_and_speaker_presupposition">Request for confirmation and speaker presupposition</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Request for confirmation and speaker presupposition"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Questions may be phrased as a request for confirmation for a statement the interrogator already believes to be true. </p><p>A <a href="/wiki/Tag_question" title="Tag question">tag question</a> is a polar question formed by the addition of an interrogative fragment (the "tag") to a (typically declarative) clause. For example: </p> <dl><dd>You're John, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">aren't you?</span></dd> <dd>Let's have a drink, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">shall we?</span></dd> <dd>You remembered the eggs, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">right?</span></dd></dl> <p>This form may incorporate speaker's <a href="/wiki/Presupposition" title="Presupposition">presupposition</a> when it constitutes a <a href="/wiki/Complex_question" title="Complex question">complex question</a>. Consider a statement </p> <dl><dd>(A) Somebody killed the cat</dd></dl> <p>and several questions related to it. </p> <dl><dd>(B) John killed the cat, did he? (tag question)</dd> <dd>(C) Was it John who killed the cat?</dd></dl> <p>As compared with: </p> <dl><dd>(D) Who killed the cat?</dd></dl> <p>Unlike (B), questions (C) and (D) incorporate a presupposition that somebody killed the cat. </p><p>Question (C) indicates speaker's commitment to the truth of the statement that somebody killed the cat, but no commitment as to whether John did it or did not.<sup id="cite_ref-saltpet_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-saltpet-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Punctuation">Punctuation</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Punctuation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In languages written in <a href="/wiki/Latin_alphabet" title="Latin alphabet">Latin</a>, <a href="/wiki/Cyrillic_script" title="Cyrillic script">Cyrillic</a> or certain other scripts, a <a href="/wiki/Question_mark" title="Question mark">question mark</a> at the end of a sentence identifies questions in writing. As with intonation, this feature is not restricted to sentences having the grammatical form of questions – it may also indicate a sentence's <a href="/wiki/Pragmatics" title="Pragmatics">pragmatic</a> function. </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language">Spanish</a> an additional <a href="/wiki/%C2%BF" class="mw-redirect" title="¿">inverted mark</a> is placed at the beginning: <i>¿Cómo está usted?</i> "How are you?". An uncommon variant of the question mark is the <a href="/wiki/Interrobang" title="Interrobang">interrobang</a> (‽), which combines the function of the question mark and the <a href="/wiki/Exclamation_mark" title="Exclamation mark">exclamation mark</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Responses_and_answers">Responses and answers<span id="Responses"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Responses and answers"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Yes%E2%80%93no_question#Answers" title="Yes–no question">Yes–no question § Answers</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Answer_ellipsis" title="Answer ellipsis">Answer ellipsis</a></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Cambridge_Grammar_of_the_English_Language" class="mw-redirect" title="Cambridge Grammar of the English Language">Cambridge Grammar of the English Language</a> distinguishes between an <i>answer</i> (being a member of the set of logically possible answers, as delineated in <a href="#Semantic_classification">§ Semantic classification</a>) and a <i>response</i> (any statement made by the addressee in reply to the question).<sup id="cite_ref-CGEL_1-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CGEL-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For example, the following are all possible responses to the question "Is Alice ready to leave?" </p> <pre>i. (a) Yes. (b) She's ready. (c) No, she's not. ii. (a) I don't know. (b) Why do you ask? (c) She might be. iii.(a) She's still looking for her wallet. (b) She wasn't expecting you before 5 o'clock. (c) I'll let you know when she's ready. </pre> <p>Only the [i] responses are answers in the Cambridge sense. The responses in [ii] avoid committing to a <i>yes</i> or <i>no</i> answer. The responses in [iii] all <i><a href="/wiki/Implicature" title="Implicature">implicate</a></i> an answer of <i>no</i>, but are not logically equivalent to <i>no</i>. (For example, in [iiib], the respondent can cancel the implicature by adding a statement like: "Fortunately, she packed everything up early.") </p><p>Along similar lines, Belnap and Steel (1976) define the concept of a <i>direct answer</i>: </p> <blockquote><p>A direct answer to a given question is a piece of language that completely, but just completely, answers the question...What is crucial is that it be effectively decidable whether a piece of language is a direct answer to a specific question... To each clear question there corresponds a set of statements which are <i>directly</i> responsive. ... A direct answer must provide an unarguably final resolution of the question.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Answering_negative_questions">Answering negative questions</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Answering negative questions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Yes_and_no" title="Yes and no">Yes and no</a></div> <p>"Negative questions" are interrogative sentences which contain negation in their phrasing, such as "Shouldn't you be working?" These can have different ways of expressing affirmation and denial from the standard form of question, and they can be confusing, since it is sometimes unclear whether the answer should be the opposite of the answer to the non-negated question. For example, if one does not have a passport, both "Do you have a passport?" and "Don't you have a passport?" are properly answered with "No", despite apparently asking opposite questions. The Japanese and Korean languages avoid this ambiguity. Answering "No" to the second of these in Japanese or Korean would mean, "I <i>do</i> have a passport". </p><p>A similar ambiguous question in English is "Do you mind if...?" The responder may reply unambiguously "Yes, I do mind," if they do mind, or "No, I don't mind," if they do not, but a simple "No" or "Yes" answer can lead to confusion, as a single "No" can seem like a "Yes, I do mind" (as in "No, please don't do that"), and a "Yes" can seem like a "No, I don't mind" (as in "Yes, go ahead"). An easy way to bypass this confusion would be to ask a non-negative question, such as "Is it all right with you if...?" </p><p>Some languages have different particles (for example the <a href="/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a> "<i>si</i>", the <a href="/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a> "<i>doch</i>" or the <a href="/wiki/Swedish_language" title="Swedish language">Swedish</a>, <a href="/wiki/Danish_language" title="Danish language">Danish</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Norwegian_language" title="Norwegian language">Norwegian</a> "<i>jo</i>") to answer negative questions (or negative statements) in an affirmative way; they provide a means to express contradiction. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Indirect_questions">Indirect questions</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Indirect questions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>As well as direct questions (such as <i>Where are my keys?</i>), there also exist <a href="/wiki/Indirect_question" class="mw-redirect" title="Indirect question">indirect questions</a> (also called <i>interrogative content clauses</i>), such as <i>where my keys are</i>. These are used as <a href="/wiki/Subordinate_clause" class="mw-redirect" title="Subordinate clause">subordinate clauses</a> in sentences such as "I wonder where my keys are" and "Ask him where my keys are." Indirect questions do not necessarily follow the same rules of grammar as direct questions.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For example, in English and some other languages, indirect questions are formed without inversion of subject and verb (compare the word order in "where are they?" and "(I wonder) where they are"). Indirect questions may also be subject to the changes of <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_tense" title="Grammatical tense">tense</a> and other changes that apply generally to <a href="/wiki/Indirect_speech" title="Indirect speech">indirect speech</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Learning">Learning</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Learning"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Questions are used from the most elementary stage of learning to original research. In the <a href="/wiki/Scientific_method" title="Scientific method">scientific method</a>, a question often forms the basis of the investigation and can be considered a transition between the observation and hypothesis stages. Students of all ages use questions in their learning of topics, and the skill of having learners creating "investigatable" questions is a central part of <a href="/wiki/Inquiry_education" title="Inquiry education">inquiry education</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Socratic_method" title="Socratic method">Socratic method</a> of questioning student responses may be used by a teacher to lead the student towards the truth without direct instruction, and also helps students to form logical conclusions. </p><p>A widespread and accepted use of questions in an educational context is the assessment of students' knowledge through <a href="/wiki/Exam" title="Exam">exams</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Origins">Origins</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Origins"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Enculturated apes <a href="/wiki/Kanzi" title="Kanzi">Kanzi</a>, <a href="/wiki/Washoe_(chimpanzee)" title="Washoe (chimpanzee)">Washoe</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sarah_(chimpanzee)" title="Sarah (chimpanzee)">Sarah</a> and a few others who underwent extensive language training programs (with the use of gestures and other visual forms of communications) successfully learned to <i>answer</i> quite complex questions and requests (including question words "who", "what", "where"), although so far they have failed to learn how to <i>ask questions themselves</i>. For example, <a href="/wiki/David_Premack" title="David Premack">David and Anne Premack</a> wrote: "Though she [Sarah] understood the question, she did not herself ask any questions — unlike the child who asks interminable questions, such as What that? Who making noise? When Daddy come home? Me go Granny's house? Where puppy? Sarah never delayed the departure of her trainer after her lessons by asking where the trainer was going, when she was returning, or anything else".<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The ability to ask questions is often assessed in relation to comprehension of <a href="/wiki/Syntactic_structure" class="mw-redirect" title="Syntactic structure">syntactic structures</a>. It is widely accepted that the first questions are asked by humans during their early infancy, at the pre-syntactic, one word stage of <a href="/wiki/Language_development" title="Language development">language development</a>, with the use of question <a href="/wiki/Intonation_(linguistics)" title="Intonation (linguistics)">intonation</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Curiosity" title="Curiosity">Curiosity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Erotetics" title="Erotetics">Erotetics</a>, the logic of questions and answers</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inquiry" title="Inquiry">Inquiry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interrogation" title="Interrogation">Interrogation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interrogative_word" title="Interrogative word">Interrogative word</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inquisitive_semantics" title="Inquisitive semantics">Inquisitive semantics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Leading_question" title="Leading question">Leading question</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Question_under_discussion" title="Question under discussion">Question under discussion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sentence_function" title="Sentence function">Sentence function</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Squiggle_operator" title="Squiggle operator">Squiggle operator</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Confusion" title="Confusion">Confusion</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Who_Asked_the_First_Question%3F" class="mw-redirect" title="Who Asked the First Question?">Who Asked the First Question?</a></i>, a book</li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-CGEL-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-CGEL_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-CGEL_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-CGEL_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-CGEL_1-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-CGEL_1-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-CGEL_1-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Huddleston, Rodney, and Geoffrey K. Pullum. (2002) <i><a href="/wiki/The_Cambridge_Grammar_of_the_English_Language" title="The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language">The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language</a>.</i> Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-521-43146-8" title="Special:BookSources/0-521-43146-8">0-521-43146-8</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSearle1969" class="citation book cs1">Searle, J (1969). <i>Speech acts</i>. Cambridge: <a href="/wiki/Cambridge_University_Press" title="Cambridge University Press">Cambridge University Press</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Speech+acts&rft.place=Cambridge&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=1969&rft.aulast=Searle&rft.aufirst=J&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AQuestion" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSearle1969" class="citation book cs1">Searle, J (1969). <i>Speech acts</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 69.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Speech+acts&rft.place=Cambridge&rft.pages=69&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=1969&rft.aulast=Searle&rft.aufirst=J&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AQuestion" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Chisholm-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Chisholm_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Chisholm_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">William Chisholm, Louis T. Milic, John A.C. Greppin. Interrogativity. – John Benjamins Publishing, 1982.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLoosAndersonDayJordan" class="citation web cs1">Loos, Eugene E.; Anderson, Susan; Day, Dwight H. Jr.; Jordan, Paul C.; Wingate, J. Douglas (eds.). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAnAlternativeQuestion.htm">"What is an alternative question?"</a>. <i>Glossary of linguistic terms</i>. SIL International.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Glossary+of+linguistic+terms&rft.atitle=What+is+an+alternative+question%3F&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sil.org%2Flinguistics%2FGlossaryOfLinguisticTerms%2FWhatIsAnAlternativeQuestion.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AQuestion" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://wals.info/chapter/93">"Chapter 93: Position of Interrogative Phrases in Content Questions"</a>. <i>World Atlas of Language Structures</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">15 April</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=World+Atlas+of+Language+Structures&rft.atitle=Chapter+93%3A+Position+of+Interrogative+Phrases+in+Content+Questions&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwals.info%2Fchapter%2F93&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AQuestion" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-WALS-polar-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-WALS-polar_7-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-WALS-polar_7-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://wals.info/chapter/116">"Chapter 116: Polar Questions"</a>. <i>World Atlas of Language Structures</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">15 April</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=World+Atlas+of+Language+Structures&rft.atitle=Chapter+116%3A+Polar+Questions&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwals.info%2Fchapter%2F116&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AQuestion" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Paul_Warren_(professor)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Paul Warren (professor) (page does not exist)">Paul Warren</a> (2017) "The interpretation of prosodic variability in the context of accompanying sociophonetic cues", Laboratory Phonology: Journal of the Association for Laboratory Phonology, 8(1), 11. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.5334%2Flabphon.92">10.5334/labphon.92</a> (Paper presented at the Third Experimental and Theoretical Approaches to Prosody workshop) <ul><li>More on uptalk of this author: Paul Warren, <i>Uptalk: the phenomenon of rising intonation</i>, Cambridge University Press. 2016, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1107123854" title="Special:BookSources/978-1107123854">978-1107123854</a> (hardcover), (<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Uptalk-Phenomenon-Intonation-Paul-Warren-ebook/dp/B017205HLC">kindle edition</a>)</li></ul> </span></li> <li id="cite_note-saltpet-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-saltpet_9-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Stanley_Peters&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Stanley Peters (page does not exist)">Stanley Peters</a>, "Speaker commitments: Presupposition", <i>Proceedings of the Semantics and Linguistic Theory Conference (SALT)</i> 26: 1083–1098, 2016, (<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://journals.linguisticsociety.org/proceedings/index.php/SALT/article/download/26.1083/3703">(download PDF)</a>)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Nuel_Belnap" title="Nuel Belnap">Nuel Belnap</a> & T.B. Steel Jr. (1976) <i>The Logic of Questions and Answers</i>, pages 3, 12 & 13, <a href="/wiki/Yale_University_Press" title="Yale University Press">Yale University Press</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-300-01962-9" title="Special:BookSources/0-300-01962-9">0-300-01962-9</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.elc.edu/english-grammar-lessons-indirect-questions/">"Indirect Questions - English Grammar Lesson - ELC"</a>. <i>ELC - English Language Center</i>. 2017-11-27<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2018-01-24</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=ELC+-+English+Language+Center&rft.atitle=Indirect+Questions+-+English+Grammar+Lesson+-+ELC&rft.date=2017-11-27&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.elc.edu%2Fenglish-grammar-lessons-indirect-questions%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AQuestion" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPremackPremack1983" class="citation book cs1">Premack, David; Premack, Ann J. (1983). <i>The mind of an ape</i>. New York; London: <a href="/wiki/W._W._Norton_%26_Company" title="W. W. Norton & Company">W. W. Norton & Company</a>. p. 29.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+mind+of+an+ape&rft.place=New+York%3B+London&rft.pages=29&rft.pub=W.+W.+Norton+%26+Company&rft.date=1983&rft.aulast=Premack&rft.aufirst=David&rft.au=Premack%2C+Ann+J.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AQuestion" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCrystal1987" class="citation book cs1">Crystal, David (1987). <i>The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University. pp. 241, 143.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Cambridge+Encyclopedia+of+Language&rft.place=Cambridge&rft.pages=241%2C+143&rft.pub=Cambridge+University&rft.date=1987&rft.aulast=Crystal&rft.aufirst=David&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AQuestion" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Question&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/60px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/80px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Look up <i><b><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/question" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:Special:Search/question">question</a></b></i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.</div></div> </div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1235681985"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1237033735"><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="34" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/51px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/68px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="355" /></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Wikiquote has quotations related to <i><b><a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Question" class="extiw" title="q:Special:Search/Question">Question</a></b></i>.</div></div> </div> <ul><li>Berti, Enrico. <i>Soggetti di responsabilita: questioni di filosofia pratica</i>, Reggio Emilia, 1993.</li> <li>Fieser, James; Lillegard, Norman (eds.). Philosophical questions: readings and interactive guides, 2005.</li> <li>Hamblin, C.L. "Questions", in: Paul Edwards (ed.), <a href="/wiki/Encyclopedia_of_Philosophy" class="mw-redirect" title="Encyclopedia of Philosophy">Encyclopedia of Philosophy</a>.</li> <li>Muratta Bunsen, Eduardo. "Lo erotico en la pregunta", in: Aletheia 5 (1999), 65–74.</li> <li>Stahl, George. "Un développement de la logique des questions", in: Revue Philosophique de la France et de l'Etranger 88 (1963), 293–301.</li> <li>Smith, Joseph Wayne. Essays on ultimate questions: critical discussions of the limits of contemporary philosophical inquiry, Aldershot: Avebury, 1988.</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1038841319">.mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-label="Navbox" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a>: National <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189756#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></span></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://d-nb.info/gnd/4018041-4">Germany</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="Grammar, Comparative and general--Interrogative"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.loc.gov/authorities/sh85056302">United States</a></span></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://olduli.nli.org.il/F/?func=find-b&local_base=NLX10&find_code=UID&request=987007536009505171">Israel</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Question&oldid=1257472178">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Question&oldid=1257472178</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Grammar" title="Category:Grammar">Grammar</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Human_communication" title="Category:Human communication">Human communication</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Interrogative_words_and_phrases" title="Category:Interrogative words and phrases">Interrogative words and phrases</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Sentences_by_type" title="Category:Sentences by type">Sentences by type</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description is different from Wikidata">Short description is different from Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_containing_Japanese-language_text" title="Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text">Articles containing Japanese-language text</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_containing_Chinese-language_text" title="Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text">Articles containing Chinese-language text</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_with_unsourced_statements" title="Category:All articles with unsourced statements">All articles with unsourced statements</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_June_2021" title="Category:Articles with unsourced statements from June 2021">Articles with unsourced statements from June 2021</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 15 November 2024, at 01:48<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Question&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-74cc59cb9d-lx6m8","wgBackendResponseTime":180,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.473","walltime":"0.583","ppvisitednodes":{"value":2185,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":25560,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":2045,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":16,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":8,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":50944,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":1,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 530.814 1 -total"," 27.27% 144.775 1 Template:Reflist"," 20.30% 107.735 2 Template:Lang"," 15.16% 80.486 1 Template:Authority_control"," 10.57% 56.126 4 Template:Cite_book"," 10.30% 54.665 1 Template:Short_description"," 8.48% 45.022 1 Template:Citation_needed"," 7.97% 42.284 3 Template:ISBN"," 7.70% 40.878 1 Template:Fix"," 6.53% 34.675 2 Template:Pagetype"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.311","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":14987912,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.main-57488d5c7d-7429w","timestamp":"20241128015854","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Question","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Question","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q189756","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q189756","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2004-03-03T16:17:59Z","dateModified":"2024-11-15T01:48:22Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/1\/11\/Question_in_a_question_in_a_question_in_a_question.gif","headline":"linguistic expression used to make a request for information, or the request made using such an expression"}</script> </body> </html>