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Is it correct to make a sentence interrogative only with question mark (and tone) and without following essential grammatical rules?

For example, people usually say

You are going to the stadium?

instead of

Are you going to the stadium?

But, what about writing? I think doing so in writing may be problematic.
Is there any specific rule for that?

Eilia
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    I'd say that doing so in writing would indeed be problematic. While talking, AmE seems to drop the Are frequently. – Tushar Raj Jun 11 '15 at 12:45
  • It's a different form of the usual interrogative, not one that is "without following essential grammatical rules" -- it has a subtly different implication from the regular interrogative structure. This may already have been dealt with here or on [ell.se] either directly or in a related issue. – Kris Jun 11 '15 at 12:51
  • @TusharRaj It's not just about dropping the are -- any statement can be turned into a question with a question-mark at the end in this way. – Kris Jun 11 '15 at 12:53
  • @Kris: That's why I said frequently, not always. I always felt there was a nuance involved. IMO, You are going to the stadium? puts emphasis on stadium, and can be used when this emphasis is desired. – Tushar Raj Jun 11 '15 at 13:00
  • You're asking us? Excluding cited examples, your question text above includes two "normal" sequences (Is it correct? Am I right?) and one which would almost never be acceptable to any native speaker Or there is* a specific rule?* I wouldn't like to try to explain why @Kris isn't quite right to say *any* statement can be converted into a question by punctuation/intonation, but I feel it would require a very contrived delivery to achieve that with the last sentence in the question text above. – FumbleFingers Jun 11 '15 at 13:00
  • Hi! This is a pretty old discussion but I'm sure it'll help -http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/5619/is-the-question-mark-misused-in-affirmative-sentences – Aishwarya A R Jun 11 '15 at 13:20
  • Since @TusharRaj tells us that it's normal in AmE could I add that in British English it's normal to ask, "You're going to the pub?" or even "Going to the pub?" – David Garner Jun 11 '15 at 14:29
  • See also the Nordquist article on declarative questions. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 11 '15 at 15:07

1 Answers1

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I would say that if using it in writing it would have to be in a fairly informal context, e.g. dialogue between two characters, or in a short informal conversation, however in these instances I would either drop the 'are' or contract the 'you are' to 'you're'

e.g.

You're going to the stadium tomorrow?

Sounds perfectly natural to me

NB. Just had a thought, this would only really make sense if the topic had previously been mentioned, e.g. if you were bringing up the subject of your friend/colleague going to the stadium, then this would sound odd.

However, if asking for emphasis, or in exclamation, this would work.

Examples:

You doing anything nice over the weekend?  
Yeah, thinking of playing a bit of football with some mates, want to come? 
*You're going* to the park?

But: 

You doing anything nice over the weekend?  
Not sure yet
*Are you going to go* to the park?
joe_young
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