Grammar: The Question Mark [ ? ]
Question marks (or interrogation marks) are used with direct questions –
Where are you going?
Who said that?
What time is it?
rhetorical questions (questions construed as affirmations and requiring no answer) –
What could be nicer than to be out strolling on a fine spring morning?
Who says it can’t be done?
Can there be anything worse than betraying a friend?
statements construed as questions –
You’ve actually won the lottery?
and dates to indicate a lack of verification –
Another influential composer of the period was Carlo Gesualdo (?1560–?1613).
Question marks are not used with indirect (reported) questions –
I asked him where he was going
She asked what time it was
or questions in business correspondence that are contextually requests or expressions of gratitude or goodwill –
Will you please confirm the date of your arrival
May I wish you well for the future.
As explained in quotation marks, when a quoted direct question ends a sentence that is itself a direct question, we may use either one or two
question marks, with two being grammatically more correct –
‘Was it Cain or Abel who asked, “Am I my brother's keeper?”?’ (Correct)
‘Was it Cain or Abel who asked, “Am I my brother's keeper?”’ (British publishing practice)
Apart from the above, the use of multiple question marks is never justified –
He said what???