A question may be either a linguistic expression used to make a request for information, or else the request itself made by such an expression. This information may be provided with an answer.
Questions are normally put forward or asked using interrogative sentences. However they can also be formed by imperative sentences, which normally express commands: "Tell me what two plus two is"; conversely, some expressions, such as "Would you pass the salt?", have the grammatical form of questions but actually function as requests for action, not for answers, making them allofunctional. (A phrase such as this could, theoretically, also be viewed not merely as a request but as an observation of the other person's desire to comply with the request given.)
Read more about Question: Varieties of Questions, Grammar, Questions and Answers, Learning, Philosophical Questions, Origins of Questioning Behavior
Famous quotes containing the word question:
“A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point. That’s basic spelling that every woman ought to know.”
—Mistinguett (1874–1956)
“The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is “What does a woman want?” [Was will das Weib?]”
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
“It is one thing to live, another to philosophize. When therefore the question is about the conduct of our lives, and the performance of our duty, we cease to be philosophers, to be opponents, doubtful or uncertain; and become poor, simple credulous idiots; we call things by their names, and re-assume our understanding and manners; we conform our manners to those of other men, and to their laws and customs.”
—Pierre-Daniel Huet (1630–1721)