Phrasing a statement as a question

[KyleAW]

Okay there is (among other things) one thing I've never been sure about. Is it alright to phrase a statement as a question?

So:

'I can't see the instructions,' changed to, 'I can't see the instructions?'

*sits down and waits with Doritos*

 

[Toby Frost]

Is that actually being asked as a question, or is it a complaint? If it is a question, the question would surely be "Am I able to see the instructions?" which seems like an odd thing to ask (as opposed to "May I look at the instructions?"). Has someone just said "You may not see the instructions"? If so, it would seem reasonable. If it's a response to not being practically able to see the instructions, I wouldn't make it a question, because it's an observation to which no answer is really anticipated.

 

[KyleAW]

Good thoughts on this,

Let's say the statement prior to this was Person A, 'the instructions are in the top draw'. Person B has the original statement.

 

[Kissmequick]

In that case I would use the ?

"I can't see them?"

It may not be grammatically correct, but neither are most people when they speak and people often do say a statement as a question. In dialogue all bets are off

 

[Jo Zebedee]

What KMQ said - it's dialogue, so absolutely fine.

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

This might be a useful thread,Kyle.
a general "I want to know about"-thread

 

[KyleAW]

Danke , that would be what I was trying to puzzle out *dusts of Doritos dust and goes to leave*

*stops when he sees @hardsciencefanagain comment*. Good point!

I think it is fair to say that there is little that is off the table when it comes to dialogue. So would people agree that the question form of that statement is 'acceptable' in dialogue?

 

[Toby Frost]

But then it surely isn't a question. It wouldn't sound like a question either in my opinion: the speaker's voice wouldn't rise at the end of the sentence. It's just a statement or possibly a complaint or an implied request for help in finding them. So I would disagree and say that, for me, phrasing it as a question sounds weird.

 

[KyleAW]

Good point Toby, I think the ? turns it into more of an implied request in this case...

 

[The Judge]

Strictly speaking, as Toby says, it's a statement, not a question, and therefore should not have a question mark appended.

However, if when you hear the dialogue spoken in your mind it comes with that stupid... er... annoying... er... contemporary (?Australia-originating) upward inflection which is increasingly heard at the end of perfectly ordinary statements, then yes, add a question mark to show that the character is saying it that way. But be careful. If the speaker does it once, he/she is likely to make a habit of it. (I have a niece. I know whereof I speak.) So for consistency's sake you'll need to add a few more for that speaker, but it can be just as irritating... er... face-slap-inviting... er... noticeable in print as in real life, which might be a real turn off when people are reading it.

Personally, I wouldn't do it. If that particular character would, though, use it.


(NB *pedant alert* -- "The instructions are in the top drawer." unless they are somehow encoded in lottery balls.)

 

[KyleAW]

Enjoying the pedant alert. I wrote in haste and it cost me

To be honest, it isn't a 'my writing needs this answered' kind of question; I want to know for general knowledge what peoples thoughts are on it

 

[Toby Frost]

Unfortunately, I can never hear anyone speaking like that without being reminded of Alyson Hannigan? Telling those anecdotes? In American Pie?

 

[KyleAW]

Aaahhh yes. 'This one time, at band camp'...

Fun times.

 

[farntfar]

Sometimes people make statements into questions when asking for confirmation rather than choices.

"We have to come out of the swimming pool at 4 o'clock?"

 

[KyleAW]

That is true yes, and I would have said that statement is clear.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

It's perfetly fine as both dialogue and general writing. Consider the following:

Jo sat down at the desk, the exam in front of him. But there was something missing.
"I can't see the instructions?" He asked the supervisor.


This makes perfect sense. Likewise it could work as a thought in third close.

Jo sat down at the desk, the exam in front of him. But there was something missing.
He couldn't see the instructions? He wondered about that.


Again completely understandable to the reader.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Toby Frost]

Jo sat down at the desk, the exam in front of him. But there was something missing.
"I can't see the instructions?" He asked the supervisor.

I think this makes sense despite the quotation mark, not because of it. He isn't asking a question, unless, by the tone of his voice, he is asking "Is the problem that you have identified that I can't see the instructions?", which I suspect he isn't (it's certainly not the most natural reading of the quoted text). If he said this, would he be saying it as a question, with the rising intonation at the end of the sentence? I doubt it. I think it would be a flat comment, possibly an angry one, but there would be no doubt in Jo's mind that he cannot see the questions. He's not asking the supervisor, he's telling him. So I think that using a question here is wrong unless there is some other complex and less natural reason that can be inferred into it all.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

To my mind, I totally heard the upward inflection with the ? and not at all without - it changes the meaning of the sentence completely.

I'm just going to march @Toby Frost outside where we can settle it with duelling pistols and a wet face flannel.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Wet Tawaals at dawn?

 

[KyleAW]

To my mind, I totally heard the upward inflection with the ? and not at all without - it changes the meaning of the sentence completely.

I'm just going to march @Toby Frost outside where we can settle it with duelling pistols and a wet face flannel.

That is my thought. The inflection of the sentence changes from terse statement to implied question with a ?

Wet flannel fight, new video game franchise?