I wonder... ends in period or question mark

[Elle]

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!

[Robbie]

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

[Charlotte]

Wow. Good answer. I agree.

"Robbie" <robbie...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
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[Elle]

Thank you very much Robbie. It's an excellent explanation. Now, I have no
more questions when I wonder. :)

"Robbie" <robbie...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
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