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Wholegrain Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Is this a rhetorical question?
Well, I couldn't even remember going there. I remembered one minute I
was downtown New York, looking across the river. I did that a lot. And
then I was there. I don't remember crossing the river at all.
I was drunk, you know.
* * * * *
You know how it is? Double bourbons and keep them coming. And after a while the bartender stops bringing me the ginger ale because gradually I forget to mix them. I got pretty loaded long before I left New York. I realize that. I guess I had to get pretty loaded to risk the pension and all.=
Is "you know how it is?" a rhetorical question? Because it doesn't seem to be the case, but people argue otherwise. Shouldn't a rhetorical question lead to an obvious answer and have a persuasive effect? I don't know what persuasive effect it could possibly have here.
was downtown New York, looking across the river. I did that a lot. And
then I was there. I don't remember crossing the river at all.
I was drunk, you know.
* * * * *
You know how it is? Double bourbons and keep them coming. And after a while the bartender stops bringing me the ginger ale because gradually I forget to mix them. I got pretty loaded long before I left New York. I realize that. I guess I had to get pretty loaded to risk the pension and all.=
Is "you know how it is?" a rhetorical question? Because it doesn't seem to be the case, but people argue otherwise. Shouldn't a rhetorical question lead to an obvious answer and have a persuasive effect? I don't know what persuasive effect it could possibly have here.
Top answer
" But yes, it does not seem to be a real question in your text.
- " But yes, it does not seem to be a real question in your text.
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4 Answers
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It is not normally followed by a question mark; it is a discourse remark of unity of viewpoint:
'You know how it is– you always forget your umbrella the day it rains."
But yes, it does not seem to be a real question in your text.
'You know how it is– you always forget your umbrella the day it rains."
But yes, it does not seem to be a real question in your text.
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I think it's an error because a rhetorical question must assert or deny something: "the problem cannot be solved", "he has never done anything for me", "he was always there for me", or sometimes "it was unfortunate".
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