Rhetorical questions

[Francis Asis]

Hope I'm in the right section. Does one use a question mark when one asks a rhetorical question in print. For example - "It's exhausting, isn't it". Should there be a question mark?

[joggerjayne]

Rightly or wrongly, I use an exclamation mark.

Whilst worded as a question, you are actually making a statement.

But it does work, doesn't it !

[Francis Asis]

Yeah, I see what you mean. A question mark never looks right but the exclamation mark does. I'd never thought of using it. Rightly or wrongly, I will now. Thanks.

[Khandro]

Elegant answer JJ.

[mike11111]

I would still use ? Your example is not strictly a rhetorical question as you are seeking confirmation of your original statement.

[boxtops]

It's a question, is "isn't it?", so still needs a question mark, IMO

[saxy_jag]

Neither is right, neither is wrong, unless anyone's going to be pedantic about it. If the emphasis is on the fact that the speaker thinks it's exhausting, I'd probably use an exclamation mark, but if they're clarifying with someone that it's exhausting, then the question mark.

It's English. It evolves. As long as your readers know what you mean, I wouldn't get yourself into a stew over it.

[jno]

I use question marks, exclamation marks or full stops more or less at random. It's not really a question. It's not really an exclamation. I think any will do.

[heathfield]

Opinion is divided on this one. Back in the Middle Ages there was even a symbol used to show that a question was intended to be rhetorical, but it's been long out of use. For me, since the term 'rhetorical question' includes the word 'question', I will continue to use a question mark at the end of the sentence.

Note that...
1) Grammatical symbols provide meaning. ( Statement )
2) Grammatical symbols provide meaning! ( Emphatic statement )
3) Grammatical symbols provide meaning? ( I don't know if they do or not )

But try Googling 'rhetorical question mark' and find loads of links on the subject.

[Francis Asis]

Thanks all. Very interesting. Perhaps I'll just stick to doing whatever takes my fancy at the time ;)

[Quizmonster]

A rhetorical question is one to which the answer is so seemingly obvious that it doesn't require an answer, but it is still a question and thus requires a question mark. (Of course, if it is an exclamatory question, it's OK to use an exclamation mark instead.)

For example,
"Who does not know that the USA has been involved in Iraq?"
Faced with such a query, no one is very likely to say, "I don't."

Or, said to a known liar, "We all know you're as honest as the day is long, don't we?"

The whole point of such questions is to make the idea contained in them stronger than a simple statement would be.