Instructing someone to ask him/herself. Which is the correct use of punctuation?


Which is the correct form?



Ask yourself, is this really what you want?



or



Ask yourself, "Is this really what you want?"



or



Ask yourself. Is this really what you want?



(Sorry for the title. I can't phrase the question properly. I don't know the areas in grammar associated with my question. If someone can give me a better title I'm more than willing to change it.)



Answer



It is possible to use direct and indirect speech. E.g:



Ask yourself: "Is this really what I want?"
Ask yourself if this is really what you want.



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