How Do Question Marks Work with Other Punctuation?

The world of punctuation marks is a kind of soap opera. Some of the characters include the stoic, dependable period; the excitable and somewhat controversial exclamation mark; the overworked, flustered comma; the overlooked and under-appreciated semicolon; etc.

Sometimes, those characters just don’t get along. You’ll hardly EVER see a comma next to an exclamation mark—they must have had some kind of feud. And a hyphen next to a semicolon? That’s a rare sight for sure.

So how do question marks fit in? Which punctuation marks do they get along with, and which do they avoid at all costs? Let’s dive in and find out how well question marks get along with quotation marks, parentheses, commas, exclamation marks, and periods.

With Quotation Marks and Parentheses

THE RULE: You CAN have quotation marks and parentheses back-to-back with question marks. But you need to be careful about which side they go on!

Question marks get along quite well with quotation marks and parentheses. You’ll often see these punctuation marks working together! The only thing about their partnership is that you need to be careful about the order of the punctuation marks: It definitely matters which side of the quotation marks or parentheses the question mark is on.

If a question mark applies to ONLY the quoted or parenthetical part of the sentence, it should go INSIDE the quotation marks or parentheses.

INCORRECT: The manager asked, “Has the owner been notified”?

CORRECT: The manager asked, “Has the owner been notified?”

In this situation, the question mark applies only to the part of the sentence inside the quotes: Those words—not the entire sentence—form the question.

INCORRECT: Why did you say that the date was “awful, pure and simple?”

CORRECT: Why did you say that the date was “awful, pure and simple”?

In this situation, the entire sentence is the question. The quoted material is part of the question but not the whole question.

Now let’s try it with parentheses.

INCORRECT: Jonathan asked Betsy out (can you believe that)?

CORRECT: Jonathan asked Betsy out (can you believe that?).

This is an example of a statement with a parenthetical question inside it. The whole sentence is not a question—only the part of it that is inside the parentheses. We need to keep the question mark right next to the question, not separated from it by the parentheses.

INCORRECT: Have you been to the new gas station (the one on Clover Lane?).

CORRECT: Have you been to the new gas station (the one on Clover Lane)?

This sentence is a question with a clarifying parenthetical statement. The question mark applies to the whole sentence, so we need it to stay on the outside of the parentheses.

If the ENTIRE sentence is a question, the question mark needs to go OUTSIDE the quotation marks or parentheses. But if the whole question is located inside quotation marks or parentheses, the question mark needs to be inside those quotation marks or parentheses as well.

With Commas

THE RULE: Commas and question marks almost never appear back-to-back; the only exception is in lists of titles. Most of the time, question marks beat out commas.

For the most part, commas and question marks do not get along. Usually, a question mark will beat out a comma.

When you have a quotation, you usually include a comma between that quotation and the rest of the sentence:

“Please take your seat,” the professor said.

However, when there’s a question mark at the end of a quotation where that comma would normally be, you do NOT include a comma.

INCORRECT: “What would you like to drink?,” the waiter asked.

CORRECT: “What would you like to drink?” the waiter asked.

INCORRECT: “Have you finished the assignment?,” Greg asked.

CORRECT: “Have you finished the assignment?” Greg asked.

The only time you might see a question mark and comma right next to one another is when the question mark is part of a book or movie title. Then, you treat the question mark as part of the title and include the comma wherever it would normally go if the question mark weren’t there.

INCORRECT: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? which came out in 1966, stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

CORRECT: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which came out in 1966, stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

INCORRECT: My three favorite songs by Creedence Clearwater are “Who’ll stop the rain?” “Fortunate Son,” and “Have you ever seen the rain?”

CORRECT: My three favorite songs by Creedence Clearwater are “Who’ll stop the rain?,” “Fortunate Son,” and “Have you ever seen the rain?”

That might look like a difficult “spot the difference” puzzle: The difference between the incorrect version and the correct version is the comma after “Who’ll stop the rain?” The comma SHOULD be included because the song title is part of a list.

With Periods

THE RULE: Question marks and periods never appear back-to-back. Question marks always beat out periods.

Periods and question marks must have had a serious falling out because you will NEVER see a question mark and period back-to-back. They simply do not get along.

Question marks are considered the stronger punctuation mark, so they will beat out a period if it seems like both are necessary.

INCORRECT: The flight attendant asked, “What would you like to drink?”.

CORRECT: The flight attendant asked, “What would you like to drink?”

INCORRECT: The final question on the test almost stumped me: “What is the capital of Nigeria?”.

CORRECT: The final question on the test almost stumped me: “What is the capital of Nigeria?”

Even if the question mark is part of a title, you should not include a period after it.

INCORRECT: His most recent book is titled Where Have the Elephants Gone?.

CORRECT: His most recent book is titled Where Have the Elephants Gone?

With Exclamation Marks

THE RULE: Question marks and exclamation marks rarely appear back-to-back; however, it’s possible when one is part of a title or in informal writing to express disbelief.

Most of the time, you won’t see question marks right next to exclamation marks in formal writing. You might see them together in informal writing to express disbelief or shock, but that’s considered nonstandard practice.

INFORMAL (rarely acceptable in formal writing): Can you believe he said that?!

The only time question marks and exclamation marks appear back-to-back in formal writing is when one of them is part of a title or quotation.

INCORRECT: Did you hear someone shout, “Fire!”

CORRECT: Did you hear someone shout, “Fire!”?

The exclamation mark is part of the quotation, but the whole sentence is a question, so we need both punctuation marks.

INCORRECT: I love the song “Have you ever seen the rain?”.

CORRECT (option 1): I love the song “Have you ever seen the rain?”!

CORRECT (option 2): I love the song “Have you ever seen the rain?”

If you want to express excitement or enthusiasm, it’s OK to have an exclamation mark come after the end quotation mark. However, you cannot put a period in the same place.

INCORRECT: Have you seen Mamma Mia!

CORRECT: Have you seen Mamma Mia!?

We need the exclamation mark because it’s part of the movie title, and we need the question mark because the sentence is a question.

BONUS: Do You Ever Need DOUBLE Question Marks?

THE RULE: No.

When there’s a quoted question within a question, do not include double question marks. Only retain the one that’s inside the quotation marks.

INCORRECT: Who sings “Have you ever seen the rain?”?

CORRECT: Who sings “Have you ever seen the rain?”

INCORRECT: Did you hear when the chief asked, “Who was the last one to see him alive?”?

CORRECT: Did you hear when the chief asked, “Who was the last one to see him alive?”

You should also avoid double question marks when a title ends in a question mark. Keep only the question mark that’s part of the title.

INCORRECT: Who stars in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf??

CORRECT: Who stars in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

What questions do you have about question marks? Let me know in the comments!

Click here to learn 5 simple rules about question marks.

Sources:

• The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2017.
• Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook. 3rd ed. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: Univ of California Pr, 2011.