Why is 'I wonder if [...] ?' used to form questions?

Question

I have noticed that many users on this site start a question with I wonder if and then go on to finish with a question mark, presumably inflecting strangely at the end.

Is this an acceptable use of a question mark, or is it bad grammar?

Whence does it come?

This is what is known as an "indirect question"; a speech act that is intended to be interpreted as a question, but is shaped like some other kind of speech act, partly to ameliorate the imposition, and partly to express deference. There is a big literature about them, starting with Gordon and Lakoff 1971 — John Lawler, Oct 26 '16 at 00:11
@JohnLawler Great, can you create an answer out of that, it seems it might answer the question fully. — BladorthinTheGrey, Oct 26 '16 at 17:18
Possible duplicate of What is the correct punctuation for an indirect question? — Arm the good guys in America, Dec 25 '16 at 19:27
How is the sentence spoken? Punctuation primarily provides non-syntactic clues to how a sentence is to be spoken. A question mark implies that the sentence is spoken with the sort of rising intonation at the end that signals a question. — Hot Licks, Dec 25 '16 at 20:01
Consider that "That's a horse?" may be a legitimate question (if, eg, the speaker was just shown a picture of a cow and was told it's a horse). — Hot Licks, Dec 25 '16 at 20:04

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

3

The Chicago Manual of Style, along with many other style guides and websites, says no:

6.68 Indirect questions
An indirect question never takes a question mark.

He wondered whether it was worth the risk.

But the example sentences at Oxford dictionary show that many people do place a question mark there. See Verb 1.1. Examples:

‘I wonder whether you have thought more about it?’

‘I've been considering my last question, and I wondered whether the church in the photograph is in Venice?’

But note that are just as many examples that don't have a question mark.

I would be surprised if people who use a question mark in such indirect questions actually use a rising intonation when saying the sentence.

edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Community

1

answered Dec 25 '16 at 19:42

Arm the good guys in America

521

I can see the first example (OD verb 1.1) with "wonder" and a high rising terminal, but I have doubts about the second sentence with "wondered". – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_ Dec 25 '16 at 19:49
2

I never would... – Arm the good guys in America Dec 25 '16 at 19:55

user2840286 · Answer 2 · 2016-10-26T16:55:57.040

0

If is used to introduce a subordinate clause. So it is grammatical. You have subject = I, verb = wonder, and a subordinate clause, functioning as a direct object, introduced by the conjunction if. The whole sentence functioning as a question can be attributed to the verb wonder which indicates curiosity about something mixed with doubt.

Declarative sentences can be used as questions in the English language. See English Syntax and Argumentation Section 4.3.5 The Pragmatics of The Sentence Types

edited Oct 26 '16 at 16:55

answered Oct 26 '16 at 00:00

user2840286

657

This seems good but I wonder if you have any references? (I felt dirty typing that.) – BladorthinTheGrey Oct 26 '16 at 09:10
@BladorthinTheGrey what do you want a reference to? The first part is a grammatical analysis of the sentence into Subject + verb + Direct Object. Then an explanation of the "if" conjunction. After that some semantics. And at the end, a statement that about the use of declarative sentences. All of this is from syntax theory. – user2840286 Oct 26 '16 at 12:55
1

You can back up the claim that declarative sentences can be used as questions? – BladorthinTheGrey Oct 26 '16 at 16:51
@BladorthinTheGrey I added a reference to a textbook on Syntactic Theory that supports this claim. I use that textbook when I need to brush up on syntax. – user2840286 Oct 26 '16 at 16:56
Thank you for your improvement. I still feel that converting a sentence such as an "I wonder if" into a question isn't grammatical. Obviously, like my comment above, they are intelligible, but are they commonly used - not just colloquially - to form questions? Your reference says that "You haven't closed the door?" is pragmatically a question (undeniable) but syntactically not. I would like to know whether it should then end with a question mark. Look at my last sentence, should that end in a question mark? It is pragmatically a sentence but syntactically not. – BladorthinTheGrey Oct 26 '16 at 17:06
I see. I am not sure about whether to use a question mark or a full stop at the end. I don't have any reference for that nor any knowledge. – user2840286 Oct 26 '16 at 17:08
If you can't answer it, vote it up so someone who can will see! :) – BladorthinTheGrey Oct 26 '16 at 17:13
That was a joke, wasn't it? "You can back up the claim that declarative sentences can be used as questions?" is a declarative sentence used as a question, isn't it?
After the use of the question mark in the first place, the second thing to learn about questions in English - and most other languages I've ever heard - is that it's impossible to find anything that can't be turned into a question through intonation…

What did I miss there, Guys?
– Robbie Goodwin Nov 10 '16 at 22:33

Why is 'I wonder if [...] ?' used to form questions?

2 Answers2