Using question marks

Use a question mark to close sentences that ask direct questions.

Have you finished the essay, or do you need more time?

Question marks do not close indirect questions, which report rather than ask questions.

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Do not use a comma or a period immediately after a question mark that ends a direct quotation.

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Questions in a series may have question marks even when they are not separate sentences.

I often confront a difficult choice: should I go to practice? finish my homework? spend time with my friends?

A question mark in parentheses can be used to indicate that a writer is unsure of a date, a figure, or a word.

Quintilian died in 96 CE (?).