The upside down question mark (¿) is a punctuation mark that is standard in Spanish. It allows a reader to know the following statement is a question. The same goes for the exclamation point because it allows the reader know that the upcoming statement is an exclamation.
How do you punctuate upside down?
- ¿Cuántos insectos comió la araña? (How many insects did the spider eat? Insectos is the direct object of comió .)
- ¿Qué tipo de celular prefieres? (Which type of cellphone do you prefer? Tipo de celular is the direct object of prefieres .)
- ¿Dónde venden ropa guatemalteca? (Where do they sell Guatemalan clothing. ...
What does upside down question mark mean in Spanish?
Word Order in Questions
- ¿Dónde jugarían los niños? (Where would the children play? Dónde is the interrogative adverb, jugarían is the verb, and the subject is niños .)
- ¿Qué significa tu nombre? (What does your name mean?)
- ¿Cómo comen los insectos? (How do insects eat?)
What does an upside down exclamation point mean in Spanish?
- ¿Cómo lo hace! (How does she do it? To translate the Spanish well, this might be said in an incredulous tone. ...
- ¡Me quieres? (You love me? The punctuation may indicate a lack of belief in what is being responded to.)
- ¡¿Qué veste?! (What are you seeing? The tone of voice may suggest "What in the world do you see?")
- ¿¡Qué estás diciendo!? (What are you saying? ...
What is an upside down question mark in Spanish?
Punctuation marks in the Spanish, showing their positions relative to the baseline. The inverted question mark ¿ is written before the first letter of an interrogative sentence or clause to indicate that a question follows. It is a rotated form of the standard symbol "?"
What does the upside down exclamation mark mean in Spanish?
In Spanish, the upside-down exclamation point (¡) is used at the beginning of all exclamatory sentences and clauses. For example: ¡Hola! (Hello!)
Do you always use upside down question mark in Spanish?
The upside-down question and exclamation marks became obligatory just in 1870 according to the Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy). They were first only recommended in 1754, but only for long sentences.
What is the upside down question mark in Spanish called?
“Upside-down question mark” is purely descriptive. Its Spanish name is equally lacking in punch: “signo de apertura de interrogación invertido.” Now's your chance to make history. Name this punctuation mark.
Why are there two question marks in Spanish?
The upside-down question mark is just one of the standard Spanish punctuation marks used to clarify and communicate what's going on when the language is in its written form. Depending on where you are and who you're speaking with, you might hear this punctuation mark called an inverted or opening question mark.
Why does Spanish use two exclamation points?
To indicate strong emphasis, you can use up to three consecutive exclamation points. The number of marks before and after the exclamation should match. Although such use of multiple exclamation points isn't used in standard English, it is acceptable in Spanish.
What is the upside down exclamation point called?
The upside-down or inverted exclamation mark (¡), also known as exclamation point in American English, is an exclusive feature of the Spanish...
How are question marks used in Spanish?
Spanish uses inverted question and exclamation marks to begin and end questions and exclamations, respectively. If a sentence has an introductory phrase or word that is not part of the question or exclamation, the opening mark comes at the beginning of the question or exclamation.
How do you write Spanish accents?
Most new mobile phones, across both Apple and Android operating systems, will allow you to type an accented letter simply by long-pressing on the letter on the keypad. The various options for that letter will appear in a small box, and you can make a selection.
What is an upside down question mark in Spanish?
The upside-down or inverted question marks and exclamation points of Spanish are unique to the languages of Spain. But they make a lot of sense: When you're reading in Spanish, you can tell long before the end of a sentence whether you're dealing with a question, something that isn't always obvious when a sentence doesn't start with ...
Where does the opening mark come in a sentence?
If a sentence has an introductory phrase or word that is not part of the question or exclamation, the opening mark comes at the beginning of the question or exclamation. Question and exclamation marks can be combined for exclamatory questions or exclamations that take the form of a question. Erichsen, Gerald.
How to use question and exclamation marks in a sentence?
If a sentence is a question and an exclamation at the same time, something for which the English language has no good written equivalent, it is possible to combine the question and exclamation marks. One way is to place the inverted question mark at the beginning of the sentence and the standard exclamation mark at the end or vice versa. More common, and the preference of the Royal Spanish Academy, is to place the punctuation marks next to each other as in the third and fourth examples below:
Do you capitalize the question or exclamation mark?
Note that the question or exclamation part does not begin with a capitalized letter unless it's a word that would normally be capitalized, such as a person's name. Note also that if words not part of the question come after the question, then the closing question mark still comes at the end:
Which language uses upside down punctuation?
The exception is the Spanish language, which is the only language that uses upside-down punctuation marks, and some languages that it has cultural ties with.
Why is the question mark upside down in Spanish?
The question mark is upside down in Spanish to indicate that a question is coming in written text. Because the word order of a question in Spanish does not change like in English, questions are enclosed between an upside-down question mark at the beginning of the question and a regular question mark at the end.
What is an upside down question mark?
This upside-down question mark is also called an inverted question mark . Real Academia Española, or the Royal Spanish Academy, originally recommended using inverted marks in 1754, and Spanish language users gradually adopted this punctuation mark over the next century ( source ).
Why do we use an inverted exclamation mark?
The first is that the language also uses an inverted exclamation mark to indicate the start of exclamation phrases and clauses. The reason for this is to create consistency with the upside-down question mark and to help readers see exclamatory expressions easily in a body of text.
Why do we use question marks in Spanish?
The question mark is upside down in Spanish to indicate that a question is coming in written text.
Why do Spanish questions have an inverted question mark?
The next reason for the inverted question mark in Spanish is actually to replace the question word. Even though the word order in open-ended Spanish questions does change like in English, Spanish speakers sometimes leave out the question words and only use the subject the question is about.
What is the accent mark in Spanish?
Another punctuation mark used uniquely in Spanish is the acute accent mark. This symbol is used to indicate syllable stress and to separate homonyms from each other. French, Spanish’s sister language, only uses the acute accent mark on the letter ‘e, but in Spanish, you can use them on any of the five vowels.

Where to Place Upside-Down Question Marks
Question and Exclamation Marks Can Be Combined
- If a sentence is a question and an exclamation at the same time, something for which the English language has no good written equivalent, it is possible to combine the question and exclamation marks. One way is to place the inverted question mark at the beginning of the sentence and the standard exclamation mark at the end or vice versa. More common, and the preference of the R…
Word Order in Questions
- Most questions begin with an interrogative pronoun such as qué or an interrogative adverb such as cómo. In nearly all such cases, the opening question word is followed by the verb and then the subject, which will be a noun or pronoun. Of course, it is common to omit the subjectif it isn't needed for clarity. 1. ¿Dónde jugarían los niños? (Where would the children play? Dónde is the in…
Key Takeaways
- Spanish uses inverted question and exclamation marks to begin and end questions and exclamations, respectively.
- If a sentence has an introductory phrase or word that is not part of the question or exclamation, the opening mark comes at the beginning of the question or exclamation.
- Question and exclamation marks can be combined for exclamatory questions or exclamation…
- Spanish uses inverted question and exclamation marks to begin and end questions and exclamations, respectively.
- If a sentence has an introductory phrase or word that is not part of the question or exclamation, the opening mark comes at the beginning of the question or exclamation.
- Question and exclamation marks can be combined for exclamatory questions or exclamations that take the form of a question.