Using '!?' or is it '?!'

[Luckymofo]

Using '!?' or is it '?!'

I've seen the '!?' thing used when I was reading (gasp!) some books a long time ago. Is the '!?'/'?!' part of correct grammar? I only ask because....

boredom and curiosity told me to...

 

[HockeyChic]

I've seen the '!?' thing used when I was reading (gasp!) some books a long time ago. Is the '!?'/'?!' part of correct grammar? I only ask because....

boredom and curiosity told me to...

Where's Dondrei when you need him?!?

 

[Veilside]

Where's Dondrei when you need him?!?

Looking a grammar pr0n.

 

[HockeyChic]

What was that?!?

 

[Merick]

It's called the interrobang.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/!?

 

[Ash Housewares]

? just means a guard is suspicious, but ! means it's an alert and you're about to lose your radar

 

[WhipsmartMcCoy]

Is it an excited question, or should we question your excitement?

 

[Evrae Altana]

It's called the interrobang.

No wonder that thing is rarely used. It sounds so dirty!

Interrobang....interro...bang...

 

[HockeyChic]

OOOoooOOO!!! Dirty and grammatically correct!

 

[ModeratelyConfused]

Hehe, whenever you post right after Evrae, your avatars line up and the little blue guy gets legs. That's amusing me for some reason...

 

[HockeyChic]

Yes, that is funny. Let's make it confusing. . .

 

[Stompwampa]

? just means a guard is suspicious, but ! means it's an alert and you're about to lose your radar

LOL That's the first thing I thought of too!

 

[Dondrei]

No, it's not real grammar. So you can put whatever you like, but most people put the question mark first because it seems more natural.

It's called the interrobang.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/!?

And if you have a bunch of them together (!?!?!?!?) it's called a ganginterrobang.

*boom-tish*

 

[HockeyChic]

HA!!!!!!
I knew you'd come along and set the whole thing straight.
Now, where is that pic of you?

 

[Stompwampa]

No, it's not real grammar. So you can put whatever you like, but most people put the question mark first because it seems more natural.

I put whichever symbol I feel is more prominent first. So if i'm more questioning than astonished, I put the "?" first. Or if I'm more suprised than dumbfounded, i'll put the "!" first. :thumbsup: It is a fine science.

 

[DurfBarian]

No, it's not real grammar. So you can put whatever you like, but most people put the question mark first because it seems more natural.

Agree with the "not proper writing" bit. But I make a distinction between ?! and !? because I think the mark appearing first in that pair is the one that would go naturally at the end of the sentence.

What did you say?! <-- This is a question, and the ! at the end makes it one asked emphatically, or in shock.

I think I saw Blasteron post!? <-- This is an emphatic statement, and the ? at the end adds an element of confusion.

This half-baked punctuation theory © 2006 Peter Durfee

 

[Bortaz]

You're still my hero, Durf. And, posts like this are the reason.

 

[Savage]

I think I usually put the exclamation mark first (!?) but intuitively I would think that putting the ? at the end emphasizes the question and putting the ! at the end emphasizes the emphasis.

Actually I dunno.

 

[Savage]

-delete this post-

 

[PatMaGroin]

I just think !? looks better than ?!.

And anyone who's played WoW knows that ! starts the quest, ? finishes it. Therefore, it should be !?

I 5 starred this quest for 'interrobang'.