Rhetorical questions

What is the proper punctuation?

[GaryK]

Pardon me while I show my ignorance. :)

When including a rhetorical question in my content do I use a question mark or a period at the end of the sentence?

[WebJoe]

It's still a question, so I'd end it with a question mark. But English is a foreign language to me, so maybe this rule - it applies in my native language - does not translate to English.

[contentmaster]

Hi!

I think a question is a question...hence the question mark should ideally follow the sentence!

[rogerd]

GaryK, can you post an example of your sentence? Normally, a rhetorical question is like any other question from a grammatical standpoint.

[Webwork]

When I am looking to set off a question I will often use this approach: Is this a rhetorical question?

Note the ":". So, question and colon.

Just one man's approach to the never ending issues of the English language.

[Hawkgirl]

Do I know how to punctuate a rhetorical question [proco.com]!

[Webwork]

Okay. Here we go. Angels on the head of a pin.

A rhetorical question is one meant to make a point, rather than call for an answer, since the answer is assumed in the question - often conveyed by inflection when "asked".....or so I say.

I quit. I can't take this any more. I'm thinking about matters that are best left to scholars. Arrrrrgggghhhh!

[rogerd]

Great link, Hawkgirl. So, if a rhetorical question is used as an exclamation, it may be OK to use an exclamation point. I still lean towards the question mark in most cases where a question is asked without the expectation of a reply, or a meaningful reply.
IMO, often a rhetorical question needs context to be identified as such. For example, "How many times have you been to the moon?" would be rhetorical if asked of a student giving a speech about lunar topics, but not if it were asked of an Apollo astronaut.

[tbear]

Couldn't open the link, but I enjoyed rogerd's rhetorical answer.....

[Hawkgirl]

> Couldn't open the link

The source discussed usage of the various rhetorical questions and having that dictate punctuation.

"Isn't she cute!" deserves an exclamation point - the rhetorical question in this case really emphasizes that the questioner thinks she's cute.

"What did you put in this stew - horsemeat?" deserves a question mark - the questioner in this case is simply offering an insult (your cooking is awful) veiled as a question.

[GaryK]

Hawkgirl, the link you provided was superb and gave me all the answers I needed to punctuate my rhetorical questions. Thanks very much. And thanks to everyone else who participated in this thread. I thought for sure I'd get laughed out of WW, but I'm glad you all took me seriously. :)