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  1. #1
    Player
    SirBrighton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Ul'dah
    Posts
    168
    Character
    Magnus Brighton
    World
    Faerie
    Main Class
    Paladin Lv 100

    "I wonder" is not a question

    I've been seeing dialogue from NPCs recently where they say something like "I wonder what's going on?" or "I wonder where she went?"
    This is grammatically incorrect as saying "I wonder" in this manner is considered a statement, not a question, and therefore should end in a period and not a question mark.

    Consider the sentence "I wonder" by itself. This is considered a statement, like "I watch" or "I laugh".
    A sentence that starts with "I wonder" would be considered a question if it was structured like so: "I wonder, where is she?"

    Several websites confirm this, though some argue that statements such as these could be considered a question depending on how they're worded and whether an answer is being sought.
    (1)
    Last edited by SirBrighton; 02-26-2020 at 11:09 AM. Reason: Added reasoning and sources

  2. #2
    Player
    Enkidoh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Ala Mhigo
    Posts
    8,260
    Character
    Enkidoh Roux
    World
    Balmung
    Main Class
    Paladin Lv 90
    I guess in the cases you're mentioning the person asking is simply being rhetorical and not asking a literal question.. but a question is still a question whether it's rhetorical or not, which would still mean a question mark at the end is acceptable.

    But then, I'm not a linguist, so I really should be the last person making commentary on the game's writing.
    (1)

  3. #3
    Player
    subteraneanbird's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Posts
    362
    Character
    Kurara Mamegano
    World
    Malboro
    Main Class
    Samurai Lv 90
    Consider that when speaking many people DO say these sentences as questions and preserving that over a grammar rule that by evidence doesn't seem to be as important keeps the localization naturalistic, which is a plus.
    (1)