Click here for AnswerPool.com Home page


Google

    AnswerPool.com  Hop To Forum Categories  News & Reference  Hop To Forums  Words & Language    Question Mark Question

Moderators: Koz
Go
Post
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
  Login/Join 
Platinum
Enthusiast
Picture of Kalena
Posted
When typing 'guess what' somewhere ( like here) would it be appropriate to use a question mark?
 
Posts: 1868 | Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Registered: 06-10-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Adi
Silver
Enthusiast
Posted Hide Post
Yes. "Guess what?" is a question, so needs a question mark at the end. However, it's a rhetorical question. You're not expecting an answer, but preparing the ground to explain something to somebody.

[This message was edited by Adi on 04-04-03 at 02:15 AM.]
 
Posts: 509 | Location: Australia | Registered: 02-19-03Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Platinum
Enthusiast
Picture of Kalena
Posted Hide Post
Thank you, Adi. I always thought that a question mark should be used, but wasn't sure.
 
Posts: 1868 | Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Registered: 06-10-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Diamond Enthusiast

Picture of Texan-In-Exile
Posted Hide Post
I dunno - to me it sounds like an exclamatory command: "Guess what this is!"
 
Posts: 6323 | Location: LA (Lower Alabama) USA | Registered: 06-03-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Diamond Enthusiast

Picture of Lydia
Posted Hide Post
Well, if you really are looking for an answer, it would definitely be a question. Unless "Guess what this is?" was a question, it wouldn't even be a sentence...
 
Posts: 4519 | Location: ~somewhere else~ | Registered: 06-03-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Gold Enthusiast
Picture of Ewood27
Posted Hide Post
I agree with TiE. Without a question mark it's a command. 'Hey you, guess ....'

With a question mark, the meaning it conveys to me is 'Do you want to guess what this is?' or 'Are you going to guess ....?', just as you might say to a friend, 'Give me a piece of your chocolate?'
 
Posts: 744 | Location: Surrey, England | Registered: 06-03-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Diamond
Enthusiast

Posted Hide Post
Well, I really can't guess what the next answer here is likely to say.

Like Ewood, I agree with TIE that the mere words "guess what," as a free-standing utterance, could just as well express a command (or simply a request) as a question.

It should be noted that the words "guess what" are always elliptical, and therefore depend entirely on context for interpretation. Usually, when these are used as an apparently free-standing utterance, they are shorthand for something like "Guess what just happened to me?" or "Guess what I just heard about you?" Taken in this way, they of course pose a question, but contrary to what Ewood says above, the question is an information question, not a yes/no question.

In other circumstances, the bare words "guess what" might stand for anything from a polite request to a stern command. I have no idea what your majesty means to do with me, the courtier says, to which the king answers, "Guess what (and perhaps a Dukedom is in store for you)," or, "Guess what (or it's your head!)"

If the ellipsis is filled in syntactically as in my opening sentence above, there are still other interpretations. You can guess what some of these are. So guess what some of these are, already! Cool
 
Posts: 2612 | Location: Upper U.S. | Registered: 06-11-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Diamond
Enthusiast

Posted Hide Post
I 'suppose' you are right...........!
 
Posts: 8399 | Location: Newmarket, UK/ Antibes, S.France | Registered: 07-14-02Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
 Previous Topic | Next Topic powered by eve community  
 

    AnswerPool.com  Hop To Forum Categories  News & Reference  Hop To Forums  Words & Language    Question Mark Question

© 2002-2008 AnswerPool.com



Visit DiscussionPool.com!