[Grammar] Question marks

[TerryHock]

I'm preparing a quiz.

If I ask, "Can you name the person who appears in this photograph?", it is correct to use a question mark.

However, if I write "Name the person who appears in this photograph.", should I use a question mark? The meaning and intent of both sentences are the same even though the question is absent from the second example!

 

[Tdol]

No- the second is an instruction, not a question.

 

[tedmc]

For a quiz, I would post the question directly: What is the name of the person in the photograph?

 

[emsr2d2]

For a quiz, I would post the question directly: What is the name of the person in the photograph?

Quizzes usually use much shorter instructions.

For example, "Name these people" at the top of a page of famous people's photographs.