Why do we need ¿ ?

Question

Hola

I'm just wondering why we need ¿ since it does not seem to be pronounced in the beginner levels and it's a bit complicated to type

good question - Tasear, Dec 25, 2011

Welcome to the forum! - Yeser007, Dec 25, 2011

Answer 1

I don't understand what you mean by not being pronounced in the beginner levels but it is used in writing questions because the grammar structure in Spainsh is different than English and the ¿ let's you know right away that the phrase is going to be a question. Eres español. vs ¿Eres español? one is a statement, the other a question. In a verbal conversation the intonation would usually tell you the difference. The same goes for ¡!. If you go to this post you can find ways to make typing them easier.

That is correct mate , I have found it quite a help when reading ( correction ) when trying to read Spanish. - ray76, Dec 25, 2011

I see. So I can consider ¿ a ' reading tip' that tells me the following paragraph is a question that will (always?) end with a question mark? - godvad, Dec 26, 2011

Answer 2

"¿" is used to indicate that a question is about to be asked.

Makes perfect sense now :) I'm just used to only the question mark. Thanks - godvad, Dec 26, 2011

Answer 3

¿ ? This indicates right away that statement is going to be a question.

....

I did few different Google and yahoo searchs and couldn't located a deeper meaning in the ¿ ?. I also tried to find history or origins ¿ ?. I didn't find any good results. I do recall there is actual reason but I no longer remember.