punctuation - Question mark followed by a comma or semi colon in a list


Is it ever okay to follow a question mark with a comma or semi-colon? For example, would any of the following be valid?
1



The main questions addressed in the literature are: who said it?, what does it mean?, and does it all make sense?



2



The main questions addressed in the literature are, (i) who said it?; (ii) what does it mean?; and (iii) does it all make sense?



3



The main questions addressed in the literature are, "who said it?", "what does it mean?", and "does it all make sense?"




Answer



Punctuation is a matter of style, and as such you should be guided by your manual of style, either the one you've chosen or the one thrust upon you. I use the Chicago Manual of Style, which advises the following:



  1. Do not place rhetorical or hypothetical questions in quotes.

  2. When two consecutive marks coincide, retain only the stronger (except in cases not applicable here, which involve quotation marks, dashes, parentheses, and brackets).

  3. An initial capital for such questions is the author's choice, but generally, "the more formal the question, the more usual" the capital

  4. Do not use a colon before a list that serves as a complement or object.


This leaves you with



The main questions addressed in the literature are who said it? what does it mean? and does it all make sense?



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