A question is an inquiry that seeks to obtain information.
The term question has its etymological origin in Latin. And it is the result of the sum of two components of said language: the prefix "pre-", which means "before", and the verb "cunctari", which can be translated as "doubt" or "delay".
A question is an interpellation that is made with the intention of obtaining some type of information . When asking this question, one expects to receive an answer that includes the data sought.
For example: "I ask you a question: where is the city museum?" , «The survey includes five questions about the new product» , «To pass the exam, you must answer 70% of the questions correctly» .
transcendental questions
We must also emphasize the existence of the so-called transcendental questions . Those are issues that are identified by the fact that they refer to important aspects of life, its generation, feelings, the future...
Examples of questions of this type are "Is there life after death? What is the meaning of life? Why do we have to die? Is there complete and absolute happiness?..."
Interrogative sentences
Questions appear at every moment of daily life through the so-called interrogative sentences : "What time is it?" , "What are we going to eat?" , "When are you leaving the office?" , "How do you feel?" , "Where's the guy?" , etc.
They can also appear in more formal contexts, such as a school assessment ( "Which countries declared their independence in 1816?" , a census ( "How many people live in your house?" ), or a tax form ( "What was its sales volume in the last quarter?
In a text, questions are posed using question marks.
rhetorical questions
Although the essence of questions is to ask for an answer, there is a type of interrogation that does not expect any return from the interlocutor or that is not even directed at someone in particular. These are so-called rhetorical questions , which are usually expressions that seek to encourage reflection or promote a change of attitude in the listener.
A frequent rhetorical question is the one asked by parents to their children: "How many times have I told you to tidy up your room?" . Other common rhetorical questions arise after a catastrophe or tragedy: "What happens to the human being?" , "Why is all this happening to me?" , "When will this bad streak end?" .
Other uses of the concept
We also use the term questions in other specific sectors or areas. In this way, within the judicial field, the use of the verbal phrase "absolve the questions" is frequently used. This is used to mean that a person is answering the questions that are being asked in an interrogation or that he is testifying under oath in a trial.
On the other hand, within what would be the field of board games there is the variety of so-called "questions and answers." As a rule, these are games that try to measure the general or specific culture that someone possesses. Among the most famous are, for example, the famous Trivial where participants must answer questions related to sports, literature, history, science...