Inverted question and exclamation marks facts for kids

Inverted question marks (¿) and exclamation marks (¡) are special symbols. They are used to start questions and exclamations in written Spanish. You might also see them in languages like Galician and Waray languages, which have connections to Spanish.

These marks can even be combined to show both a question and surprise. The inverted marks (¿ and ¡) always have a regular mark (? and !) at the end of the sentence. Unlike the ending marks, which sit on the line, the inverted marks hang below the line.

The Real Academia Española first suggested using these inverted marks in 1754. People slowly started using them over the next 100 years. On computers, you can find these marks using different systems like Unicode. Keyboards made for Spanish-speaking countries often have them directly.

How We Use Them

The inverted question mark (¿) is a symbol placed before the first letter of a question. It tells you that a question is about to begin. It looks like a regular question mark (?) that has been turned upside down.

In most languages, a single question mark is used only at the end of a question, like "How old are you?". Spanish used to do this too. However, the Real Academia decided in 1754 that Spanish should use the inverted question mark at the beginning. For example, ¿Cuántos años tienes? means "How old are you?".

The Real Academia also decided to use the same system for exclamations. This means using "¡" at the start and "!" at the end. This helps readers know right away if a sentence is a question or an exclamation, especially in long sentences. For example, ¿Te gusta el verano? means "Do you like summer?". And Te gusta el verano. means "You like summer." Sometimes, in Spanish, a question and a statement can look very similar without these marks.

These new rules were slowly adopted. Some books from the 1800s don't use "¡" or "¿".

Questions Within Sentences

Sometimes, a sentence might have a question inside it. In these cases, only the part that is a question gets the inverted question mark. For example: Si no puedes ir con ellos, ¿quieres ir con nosotros? This means "If you cannot go with them, would you like to go with us?".

Some writers might skip the inverted question mark for very short questions that are clearly questions. For example, Quién viene? ("Who comes?"). This is common in languages like Galician and Catalan.

Modern Use and Challenges

Some Spanish writers, like the famous poet Pablo Neruda, chose not to use the inverted question mark. Today, in online chats and messages, people often use only the single "?" at the end to save time. They might even use multiple question marks for emphasis, like Por qué dices eso?? instead of the correct ¿Por qué dices eso? ("Why do you say that?"). Some might even use the ending symbol for both the beginning and end, like ?Por qué dices eso?.

While this might be okay in informal chats, teachers worry that young people are starting to use these shortcuts in their schoolwork. It's important to remember the correct way to use these marks for formal writing.

Images for kids

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  The ¡ character is accessible using AltGr+1 on a modern US-International keyboard.

See also

In Spanish: Signos de puntuación iniciales para niños