punctuation - Quoting a question at the end of a sentence which is itself a question


If my sentence is a question and ends with a quote of a question, where exactly do I put a question mark?





  1. Did she ask, "Is it raining"?




  2. Did she ask, "Is it raining?"?




  3. Did she ask, "Is it raining?"






Answer



The convention here is to write



Did she ask, "Is it raining?"



with the first question mark included and the second omitted.


See for example Jane Straus's Blue book of grammar and punctuation or Larry Trask's Guide to punctuation.


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