English: How do You Mix Together a Question and an Exclamation in Writing?
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s0z!Disaster Button said:I just cringed myself into a near coma.2012 Wont Happen said:ME TOO!!!!!!!Disaster Button said:
OT:
Any combination of the two punctuations is informal, and technically incorrect. Do it however you want in colloquial writing.
ok, I'll seriously cut that out now (!!!)
I HATE YOU!!!!2012 Wont Happen said:s0z!Disaster Button said:I just cringed myself into a near coma.2012 Wont Happen said:ME TOO!!!!!!!Disaster Button said:
OT:
Any combination of the two punctuations is informal, and technically incorrect. Do it however you want in colloquial writing.
ok, I'll seriously cut that out now (!!!)
Oh God now I'm doing it!
It depends. In formal, essay style writing you shouldn't use either as it is (apparently) regarded impossible to exclaim a question. If you are doing essays at school you should never mix the two. You'll lose marks. Pick the most important one. (Although to be honest in essay writing you have little use for an exclamation point anyway)
As for more informal writing I don't think it is "wrong" to use either !? or ?!. (Although ?! looks strange to me) That's more just what you prefer. I don't recall ever seeing !? or ?! in any literary works though, although I haven't really been looking.
The interrobang is a hardy used symbol. I knew of it's existence, but I don't know if it's the grammatically correct symbol.
Basically, I'd say refrain from using both in formal writing, pick the most important. For more informal writings, I don't think it really matters.
As for more informal writing I don't think it is "wrong" to use either !? or ?!. (Although ?! looks strange to me) That's more just what you prefer. I don't recall ever seeing !? or ?! in any literary works though, although I haven't really been looking.
The interrobang is a hardy used symbol. I knew of it's existence, but I don't know if it's the grammatically correct symbol.
Basically, I'd say refrain from using both in formal writing, pick the most important. For more informal writings, I don't think it really matters.
Generally you shouldn't have to bother. In informal writing (forums etc) either or is appropriate.
In formal writing (essays etc) you shouldn't be using exclamation marks.
In story writing, one or the other is appropriate, as long as surrounding narrative makes it clear it is either a question, or has been said with great exclamation. Often you don't even need that, since it should be clear that the person is yelling, or that it is a question.
In formal writing (essays etc) you shouldn't be using exclamation marks.
In story writing, one or the other is appropriate, as long as surrounding narrative makes it clear it is either a question, or has been said with great exclamation. Often you don't even need that, since it should be clear that the person is yelling, or that it is a question.
I can't believe how many people think that !? is acceptable. These people obviously couldn't write their way out of a paper condom.
First, with regards to the rule that "If the sentence is declarative, use !? ... but if the sentence is interrogative, you use ?!". That's the stupidest thing I've heard since Bush was president. If your sentence isn't interrogative, you shouldn't put any question marks at the end of it? Because that would be obviously stupid? And make everything confusing? The only situation where you might want to do such a thing is when you're trying to communicate that a character has a dumbass California accent?
So rule one is, only ever use this punctuation combination at the end of an interrogative sentence. (Actually that's rule two. Rule one is NEVER USE THIS IN FORMAL WRITING. You might be able to get away with using it in a novel, but even there you should be careful. Also note that if you begin to double or triple it up [?!?!?!], the perceived intelligence of yourself and your writing will drop off faster than EA's employment numbers. None of this means that they can't be used in comic books, of course, where rules of formality largely go out the window, and expressive punctuation works well with the more dynamic visual medium.)
And I'm only talking about putting this punctuation device at the end of a SPOKEN SENTENCE. If you're putting these at the end of a prose sentence, say in a non-fiction essay, you've again jumped the shark of credibility. Your writing will seem ludicrously childish. Use these things ONLY to denote when a character in a story is "yelling a question".
Think about the roles of each of your pieces of punctuation. The question mark exists for a very fundamental mechanical reason: to denote that the sentence is interrogative. The exclamation point, on the other hand, exists only to change the tone in which the sentence is "heard" in the mind: that sentence was spoken in a particularly excited, loud, or adamant tone of voice.
Together their role is clear: to denote that a sentence was interrogative, and that it was yelled. But what is the priority of these two functions? It's obvious: communicating this "emotional tone" of the message is clearly of secondary importance to communicating that the core nature of the sentence is interrogative.
Therefore we can infer that the question mark should ALWAYS precede the exclamation point.
Some people who are even more OCD than myself about English and writing will tell you that this is not a real punctuation device and that there is NO place for it - this is part of why it will kill the perceived formality of your writing. Personally I believe that it fills the same role as the word "y'all". In other words it is perceived as highly informal, but this is an unfair stigma: for it fills a worthwhile, sometimes important, and probably inevitable role in the language.
So in conclusion: use ?!. But use it responsibly. And never, ever, use !?
First, with regards to the rule that "If the sentence is declarative, use !? ... but if the sentence is interrogative, you use ?!". That's the stupidest thing I've heard since Bush was president. If your sentence isn't interrogative, you shouldn't put any question marks at the end of it? Because that would be obviously stupid? And make everything confusing? The only situation where you might want to do such a thing is when you're trying to communicate that a character has a dumbass California accent?
So rule one is, only ever use this punctuation combination at the end of an interrogative sentence. (Actually that's rule two. Rule one is NEVER USE THIS IN FORMAL WRITING. You might be able to get away with using it in a novel, but even there you should be careful. Also note that if you begin to double or triple it up [?!?!?!], the perceived intelligence of yourself and your writing will drop off faster than EA's employment numbers. None of this means that they can't be used in comic books, of course, where rules of formality largely go out the window, and expressive punctuation works well with the more dynamic visual medium.)
And I'm only talking about putting this punctuation device at the end of a SPOKEN SENTENCE. If you're putting these at the end of a prose sentence, say in a non-fiction essay, you've again jumped the shark of credibility. Your writing will seem ludicrously childish. Use these things ONLY to denote when a character in a story is "yelling a question".
Think about the roles of each of your pieces of punctuation. The question mark exists for a very fundamental mechanical reason: to denote that the sentence is interrogative. The exclamation point, on the other hand, exists only to change the tone in which the sentence is "heard" in the mind: that sentence was spoken in a particularly excited, loud, or adamant tone of voice.
Together their role is clear: to denote that a sentence was interrogative, and that it was yelled. But what is the priority of these two functions? It's obvious: communicating this "emotional tone" of the message is clearly of secondary importance to communicating that the core nature of the sentence is interrogative.
Therefore we can infer that the question mark should ALWAYS precede the exclamation point.
Some people who are even more OCD than myself about English and writing will tell you that this is not a real punctuation device and that there is NO place for it - this is part of why it will kill the perceived formality of your writing. Personally I believe that it fills the same role as the word "y'all". In other words it is perceived as highly informal, but this is an unfair stigma: for it fills a worthwhile, sometimes important, and probably inevitable role in the language.
So in conclusion: use ?!. But use it responsibly. And never, ever, use !?
That sounds wonderful. Perhaps someday I shall find you and demand my hug/half-off tour.Spleeni said:
That was a wonderful first post, in my opinion. A touch condescending/hostile at parts, but better than many I have seen. Well done, sir.IQpierce said:
An interrobang is probably your best bet. It does the job and sounds like a cheap Cop porn movie!
Disaster Button said:I HATE YOU!!!!2012 Wont Happen said:s0z!Disaster Button said:I just cringed myself into a near coma.2012 Wont Happen said:ME TOO!!!!!!!Disaster Button said:
OT:
Any combination of the two punctuations is informal, and technically incorrect. Do it however you want in colloquial writing.
ok, I'll seriously cut that out now (!!!)
Oh God now I'm doing it!
Oh no's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How do you end up needing to ask this question?
If you have a question you ALWAYS punctuate with a question mark. The dot at the bottom is a period so your sentence is finished therefore no more punctuation.
I recommend getting everyone you know to use the interrobang, if used enough it may even become a standard symbol.
If you have a question you ALWAYS punctuate with a question mark. The dot at the bottom is a period so your sentence is finished therefore no more punctuation.
I recommend getting everyone you know to use the interrobang, if used enough it may even become a standard symbol.