I wonder... ends in period or question mark

Question

I am curious (actually I wanted to say I wonder...) if a sentence that starts with "I wonder...", "We are wondering...", "They were wondering...", and so on should end in a period or a question mark?

I noticed that some here in the NG end their sentences in periods although it sounds like they were asking something. But I also saw others that end in a question mark.
I wonder how it should be ended... (now I use ellipsis to be safe)

Thanks a lot in advance!

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]I am curious (actually I wanted to say I wonder...) if a sentence that starts with "I wonder...", "We are ... end in a question mark. I wonder how it should be ended... (now I use ellipsis to be safe)

[/nq]
Strictly speaking, "I wonder..." is a statement - I am wondering whether something is or isn't the case. Therefore it ends in a full stop (period). However, it's usually used as an indirect way to ask a question, which is why a lot of people end it with a question mark.
Being a stickler myself, I always end this sort of sentence with a full stop:
I wonder if is this the right button to press.
I wonder if you could open the window for me.
We're wondering what his name is.
This is certainly good for short sentences. In longer and more involved sentences, it can look odd because the "I wonder" part is swamped by the length of the implied question.
Here's one way around this. Phrase the question as if it stood alone, then introduce it with "I wonder", separated by a comma: I wonder, is this the right button to press?
I wonder, would you open the window for me?
We're wondering, what's his name?
Sentences in the third person ("he/she wonders") can only really be narrative statements, since you can't ask a polite indirect question on behalf of someone else:
He wondered about the meaning of life.
She wondered whether the dog was sick.
Hope this helps!
Robbie

Usenet · Answer

Wow. Good answer. I agree.

Usenet · Answer

Thank you very much Robbie. It's an excellent explanation. Now, I have no more questions when I wonder. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

I wonder... ends in period or question mark

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