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Is a question mark needed after "kitchen"? I feel there might be as I imagine Bob has omitted "didn't you?" from the end of the sentence. If it was there a question mark seems like it would be needed: "Well, you saw the mess he made in the kitchen, didn't you?"

Bob: Tony's getting worse.

Rob: He is?

Bob. Well, you saw the mess he made in the kitchen? Now he's wrecked the bathroom too!

Jack
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2 Answers2

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It depends on whether the sentence is intended to be a statement or a question (both are possible in your example). The punctuation should reflect the intent.

Lawrence
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  • A statement I think as Bob expects Rob to know the answer, that's why he doesn't wait for a reply. – Jack May 07 '19 at 08:29
  • @Jack In that context, it's often a rhetorical question, meaning "Did you see ...?". Bob can still expect Rob to know the answer to a rhetorical question. – Lawrence May 07 '19 at 08:41
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No, the question mark is not necessary.

However, its presence does not make the sentence incorrect even if Bob knows that Rob had seen the mess. This is an example of a rhetorical question.

A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked to make a point rather than to elicit an answer. Wikipedia

John Go-Soco
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