Punctuation wasn’t prominent when writing systems began centuries ago. In time, writers across the globe developed marks for indicating pauses, stops, and intonation to help readers mimic speech patterns. These punctuation marks became standardized within each language, yet their use is not standardized across languages. There’s one punctuation mark you’ll only find in a few languages, Spanish being the primary one: the upside-down question mark (¿).
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Which languages use upside-down question marks?
Spanish is the primary language that uses upside-down, or inverted, question marks, but other linguistically or historically related languages do, too. Asturian in Spain and Waray in the Philippines still use the inverted question mark. Other languages in Spain, such as Galician and Catalan, used the upside-down question mark in the past but no longer require it.
What is the purpose of an upside-down question mark?
The upside-down question mark signals the reader that a question is coming. While it may seem unnecessary to speakers of other languages, the upside-down question mark in Spanish is used for clarification. This is especially useful for long questions or questions that are interrogatory simply due to inflection. But there are also grammatical reasons why the upside-down question mark is necessary.
English speakers often rely on inverted verbs to know when a question is coming:
- “Are you home?”: It’s obvious to an English speaker that there’s a question involved because the verb and subject are inverted.
- “You’re home.”: This is clearly an affirmative statement because the subject follows the verb, and the sentence uses a period.
- “You’re home?”: This question uses the affirmative statement to ask a question.
Now, look at corresponding examples in Spanish.
- ¿Estás en casa? (“Are you home?”)
- Estás en casa. (“You’re home.”)
- ¿Estás en casa? (“You’re home?”)
You’ll notice right away that these three examples are exactly the same except for the punctuation. That’s because the subject is usually optional in Spanish, so there is no subject and verb to invert! It is possible to include the subject in Spanish, but its placement is fluid. It can go before or after the verb and have the same meaning, so even when the subject comes first, it doesn’t have the implications of English.
The upside-down question marks in Spanish are needed to let the reader know immediately that a question is involved. You can read more examples in Rosetta Stone’s Stories, which embed cultural context and history in narratives that fit each unit of study.
Where do you place an upside-down question mark in a sentence?
The upside-down question mark doesn’t always go at the beginning of the sentence, but most of the time it does. Whenever the question immediately begins the sentence, place the upside-down question mark there. Here’s an example:
- ¿Dónde estoy? = Where am I?
For dialogue or quotes in fiction and nonfiction, the upside-down question mark goes right before the actual question:
- Carmen miró a su alrededor y preguntó, «¿Dónde estoy?». = Carmen looked around and asked, “Where am I?”
- El político les preguntó, «¿Qué es lo que necesitan?». = The politician asked them, “What is it you need?”
You’ll also notice that other Spanish punctuation marks are different from English punctuation. For example, quotation marks are different in Spanish.
How do you type an upside-down question mark?
Typing the upside-down question mark is easy when you know the tricks. Each computer or software version may be slightly different, so we’ve given you multiple options for each type of device. If one doesn’t work, try another one.
Copy and paste the upside-down question mark
The easiest way to produce an upside-down question mark is by searching for it online and then copying and pasting it. You can copy this one: ¿
Once you’ve pasted it, don’t forget to adjust the font and type size to match your document.
How to type an upside-down question mark on an iPhone
When sending a text message from an iPhone, go to the main keyboard.
- Press the “123” button on the lower left-hand side that takes you to the numbers keyboard.
- Press the “#+=” button.
- Hold and press the question mark button until the upside-down question mark appears to the right.
- Move your finger over it until it appears in the text message you’re writing. Then lift your finger.
How to type an upside-down question mark on an Android
Start typing in the app you want to use to activate the keyboard.
- Press and hold the question mark key. This will make a pop-up menu appear.
- Drag your finger to the upside-down question mark until it turns blue then release.
Another option is to tap the “123” or “?123” key on the lower left-hand side of the keyboard, which will make the numbers and symbols view appear. Then choose from there.
How to type an upside-down question mark on a Mac
There are two ways to type an inverted question mark on a Mac. First, you can press Option + Shift + ? simultaneously.
If you type a lot in Spanish, you may want to add the Spanish keyboard to your Mac. Here are the steps:
- Go to the Apple menu on the upper left-hand side of your computer.
- Go to System Preferences and select Keyboard.
- Select Input sources.
- Click the + sign on the lower left. Then choose Spanish.
- Type the upside-down question mark on your keyboard by tapping < + Shift.
- You can toggle between the English and Spanish keyboards by going to the corresponding flag at the top of your screen and clicking on it. Then select the language you want according to the flag.
How to type an upside-down question mark on a PC
Here are two quick ways to get the upside-down question mark on a PC:
- Hold down the Alt button and type one of the following numbers: 168, 0191, or 6824.
- Type Ctrl + Alt simultaneously then Shift + /.
If you think you’ll need the upside-down question mark regularly, another option on a Windows 11 computer is to add the international keyboard. Here are the steps:
- Click the language icon on the bottom right-hand corner.
- Select Spanish.
- To switch to that keyboard, press Alt + Shift. Return to the English keyboard the same way.
- The upside-down question mark is found by pressing the < key in shift.
Another option for adding the international keyboard:
- Go to Settings (or the Start menu).
- Go to Time & language then Language & Region.
- Go to Preferred Languages then Language.
- Under Language options, click “Add a keyboard.” (You’ll see the standard US keyboard already there.)
- Click on “United States-International/QWERTY.”
- Close the Settings.
- To type the upside-down question mark, click ? + Shift.
- To toggle between keyboards, click on the lower right-hand corner of your taskbar close to the date or tap the Windows key and the space bar. A pop-up menu will appear with either ENG / US or ENG / INTL, allowing you to choose.
Frequently asked questions about upside-down question marks
The upside-down question mark in Spanish is a handy way for readers to instantly know that what they’re reading is a question. Since it’s fairly unique, it’s natural to have a lot of questions about its existence and usage.
Are other punctuation marks inverted?
The only other punctuation mark in Spanish that’s inverted is the exclamation point (¡), which follows rules similar to the ones for the question mark. Explore examples of Spanish exclamations and interjections to learn how to use this punctuation mark.
Why doesn’t English have an upside-down question mark?
English doesn’t have an upside-down question mark because most of the time the subject and verb get inverted when we ask a question with the verb “to be”: “Are you watching television now?” For other verbs, we use an auxiliary form of “to do”: “Do you watch television every day?”
The only exception to this is when an affirmative statement is turned into a question through inflection (a change in our tone of voice): “You are watching television now?” Most of the time, readers have no problem figuring out that a statement is a question because our eyes tend to read ahead. Occasionally, an exceptionally long question might be perceived as a statement until we get to the question mark.
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