Direct Questions
A **direct question** is expressed as an independent interrogative utterance, including one quoted inside a narrative. It may seek information, request a decision, challenge an assumption, or make a rhetorical point; 'direct' does not mean that the speaker lacks the information.
Greek does **not require a question-specific subject–verb inversion** like English 'are you ...?' Word order remains flexible, and interrogative expressions need not be the first words. In **John 1:19**, **σὺ τίς εἶ;** ('Who are you?') is a direct question quoted after a verb of asking, not an indirect question merely because the narrative reports it.
In conventional printed Greek, **;** is the **question mark**. The **raised dot ·** (often displayed as ·) is a different punctuation mark. Printed punctuation helps readers follow an edition's interpretation; syntax and context remain necessary when evaluating a disputed question boundary.
**John 1:19, excerpt** — **ἵνα ἐρωτήσωσιν αὐτόν· σὺ τίς εἶ;** ('so that they might ask him, Who are you?'). The raised dot introduces the quotation in this edition; the semicolon-shaped sign ends the direct question.
Indirect Questions
An **indirect question** is a dependent interrogative construction, often governed by asking, knowing, wondering, or considering. It need not reproduce someone's exact words or occur only within a declarative main clause. Content questions can retain an interrogative word; yes/no questions can use **εἰ** meaning **'whether'**. This use of εἰ is not an ordinary conditional 'if ... then' relation.
In **Mark 15:44**, **ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτὸν εἰ πάλαι ἀπέθανε** reports asking whether Jesus had been dead for some time. **ἀπέθανε** is aorist active indicative, 3rd singular. In **Luke 22:23**, the embedded question **τὸ τίς ἄρα εἴη ἐξ αὐτῶν** uses **εἴη**, present optative, 3rd singular. The optative here belongs to reported questioning; it is not a wish or an automatic marker of low probability.
**Luke 22:2**, **τὸ πῶς ἀνέλωσιν αὐτόν**, uses an aorist active subjunctive, 3rd plural, in the consideration of how to kill him. These examples show that indirectness does not prescribe one mood. Identify the governing expression and the particular dependent construction rather than freely substituting indicative, subjunctive, and optative.
**Mark 15:44, excerpt** — **ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτὸν εἰ πάλαι ἀπέθανε** ('he asked him whether he had been dead for some time').
**Luke 22:23, excerpt** — **τὸ τίς ἄρα εἴη ἐξ αὐτῶν ὁ τοῦτο μέλλων πράσσειν** ('which of them it might be who was going to do this').
**Luke 22:2, excerpt** — **τὸ πῶς ἀνέλωσιν αὐτόν** ('how they might kill him'). In the two Luke examples, τὸ introduces the embedded interrogative expression.
Yes/No Questions
A **yes/no (polar) question** asks whether a proposition holds. It need not contain a negative particle. **πιστεύεις τοῦτο;** (John 11:26, 'Do you believe this?') is a yes/no question without οὐ or μή. **ἆρά γε γινώσκεις ἃ ἀναγινώσκεις;** (Acts 8:30) uses the interrogative particle **ἆρα** with γε. Do not confuse interrogative ἆρα with inferential **ἄρα** merely because accentless spelling looks alike.
In many yes/no questions, **οὐ** invites affirmation and **μή** invites a negative response. These are useful cues to **bias**, not guarantees of a reply or of truth. An unmarked question is not necessarily pragmatically neutral. Read the dialogue and identify the scope of any negative rather than treating every οὐ or μή anywhere in the sentence as its question particle; see Chapter 54.
**John 11:26, final question** — **πιστεύεις τοῦτο;** ('Do you believe this?').
**Acts 8:30, question** — **ἆρά γε γινώσκεις ἃ ἀναγινώσκεις;** ('Do you understand what you are reading?').
**John 6:70, excerpt** — **οὐκ ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς τοὺς δώδεκα ἐξελεξάμην;** ('Did I not choose you, the twelve?').
**John 18:25, question** — **μὴ καὶ σὺ ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ εἶ;** ('You are not also one of his disciples, are you?').
Interrogative Pronouns (τίς, τί)
The interrogative pronoun **τίς** has masculine/feminine nominative singular **τίς** ('who?', 'which?') and neuter nominative/accusative singular **τί** ('what?'). It inflects for its role: **τίνα** can be accusative singular masculine/feminine, and **τίνι** dative singular. Context resolves forms shared by more than one case/number combination.
In **Mark 8:29**, **ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι;** means 'But who do you say I am?' **τίνα** is the accusative predicate within the infinitival construction, with **με** as the accusative subject of εἶναι; it is not simply the object of 'say'. **τί** can also be used adverbially for a reason: **τί με πειράζετε;** (Mark 12:15), 'Why are you testing me?'
In conventional accentuation, interrogative **τίς/τί** have their own acute accent, retained before a following word. The indefinite **τις/τι** ('someone/something', 'a certain ...') is enclitic, but enclitic forms can receive written accents in some environments. Therefore 'has any accent' is not a universal test. Nor are all interrogative words acute: **ποῦ** and **πῶς** have circumflexes. Read form, accentuation, and syntax together.
**Mark 8:29, excerpts** — **ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι;** ('But who do you say I am?'); Peter replies **σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστός.** ('You are the Christ.').
**Mark 12:15, question** — **τί με πειράζετε;** ('Why are you testing me?').
Interrogative Adverbs
Interrogative adverbs include **ποῦ** ('where?'), **πῶς** ('how?'), and **πότε** ('when?'). They can occur in direct questions or embedded inquiries. **Matthew 2:2** asks **ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ τεχθεὶς βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων;**; **Matthew 24:3** includes **εἰπὲ ἡμῖν πότε ταῦτα ἔσται** ('tell us when these things will be').
**διὰ τί** ('why?', 'for what reason?') is a prepositional interrogative expression, not morphologically a simple adverb. It contains **διά + accusative τί**, with causal force; translating it as 'through what?' confuses this use with a common genitive use of διά. The checked text prints it as one word, **διατί**, in Matthew 9:11. Preserve an edition's spelling in quotations while explaining the construction.
**ποῦ** and **πῶς** bear circumflexes, **πότε** an acute. Not every interrogative word has the same accent, and a question can express a challenge rather than a neutral request for information.
**Matthew 2:2, question** — **ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ τεχθεὶς βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων;** ('Where is the newborn king of the Jews?').
**Matthew 24:3, excerpt** — **εἰπὲ ἡμῖν πότε ταῦτα ἔσται** ('tell us when these things will be').
**Matthew 9:11, question** — **διατί μετὰ τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν ἐσθίει ὁ διδάσκαλος ὑμῶν;** ('Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?').
Questions Expecting a Positive Answer (οὐ)
A yes/no question with **οὐ/οὐκ/οὐχ**, or **οὐχί**, commonly invites affirmation of the proposition: roughly 'surely ...?' or 'is it not ...?' This is a description of the framing, not a requirement that the hearer answer yes.
**John 6:70** asks for acknowledgment of Jesus' choosing the twelve. **John 18:26** asks **οὐκ ἐγώ σε εἶδον ἐν τῷ κήπῳ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ;** ('Did I not see you in the garden with him?'), yet Peter denies again in 18:27. The latter demonstrates the distinction between an affirmative orientation and the actual reply. English answers to negative questions can be ambiguous; explain the proposition affirmed or denied rather than relying on the bare word 'yes'.
**John 18:26, excerpt** — **οὐκ ἐγώ σε εἶδον ἐν τῷ κήπῳ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ;**. **18:27, continuation** — **πάλιν οὖν ἠρνήσατο ὁ Πέτρος** ('Peter therefore denied again').
Questions Expecting a Negative Answer (μή)
A yes/no question with **μή**, or **μήτι**, commonly invites a negative response or presents a proposition with doubt. This is an orientation within the dialogue, not proof that the proposition is false. **μήτι** in Matthew 7:16 frames a negative response to gathering fruit from unsuitable plants. Preserve the actual form μήτι rather than silently quoting it as μή alone.
In **John 21:5**, **μή τι προσφάγιον ἔχετε;** is printed with separate **μή τι** and receives **οὔ** as the reply. Here ἔχετε is indicative. Diagnose the interrogative construction: **μὴ γίνεσθε** ('do not become/be') is an imperative prohibition, not a yes/no question. Negative questions and prohibitions cannot be distinguished merely by spotting μή.
**Matthew 7:16, question** — **μήτι συλλέγουσιν ἀπὸ ἀκανθῶν σταφυλὴν ἢ ἀπὸ τριβόλων σῦκα;** ('Do they gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?'). The checked text has **μήτι** and singular **σταφυλήν** (printed σταφυλὴν here), not σταφυλάς.
**John 21:5, excerpt** — **μή τι προσφάγιον ἔχετε; ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ· οὔ.** ('You have no food, do you? They answered him, No.').
Alternative Questions
An **alternative question** presents alternatives, often joined by **ἤ** ('or'). The offered choice can concern words, predicates, or whole propositions. **ἤ** is also an ordinary disjunctive or comparative connective outside questions, so its presence alone does not make a sentence interrogative. The context determines whether the alternatives are exhaustive, a challenge, or a starting point for discussion.
In **Mark 2:9**, **τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον** introduces a comparison between two **εἰπεῖν** constructions linked by ἤ. In **Mark 12:14**, the checked text has both **ἔξεστι δοῦναι κῆνσον Καίσαρι ἢ οὔ;** ('Is it lawful to pay tax to Caesar or not?') and **δῶμεν ἢ μὴ δῶμεν;** ('Should we give, or should we not give?').
Negatives can therefore occur within alternative questions. In the second example μή negates the second option; it does not serve as a sentence-initial cue that the answer must be no. Alternative form can coexist with deliberative function.
**Mark 2:9** — **τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν τῷ παραλυτικῷ, ἀφέωνταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι, ἢ εἰπεῖν, ἔγειρε καὶ ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ περιπάτει;** ('Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Get up, take your mat, and walk?').
**Mark 12:14, excerpts** — **ἔξεστι δοῦναι κῆνσον Καίσαρι ἢ οὔ; δῶμεν ἢ μὴ δῶμεν;** The checked edition places both questions in verse 14.
Deliberative Questions
A **deliberative question** concerns what should be done or how to proceed. It can use a **subjunctive**, but the discourse function is not restricted to that mood. **Mark 4:30** has **πῶς ὁμοιώσωμεν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ;**, with **ὁμοιώσωμεν**, 1st plural aorist active subjunctive of ὁμοιόω. It asks how to present a comparison, not about a past action merely because the form is aorist.
**Acts 2:37** in the checked teaching text has **τί ποιήσομεν, ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί;**, with **ποιήσομεν**, 1st plural **future active indicative**, asking what to do. It does not read the subjunctive ποιήσωμεν. The omicron/omega difference matters. English 'shall/should' alone cannot determine Greek mood.
A deliberative question can be addressed to others, not only be private self-questioning. In **Mark 12:14**, **δῶμεν ἢ μὴ δῶμεν;** uses aorist active subjunctives of δίδωμι, 1st plural, while explicitly offering alternatives. Parse the form first, then identify its function in context.
**Mark 4:30, first question** — **πῶς ὁμοιώσωμεν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ;** ('How shall we compare the kingdom of God?'): aorist active subjunctive, 1st plural.
**Acts 2:37, question** — **τί ποιήσομεν, ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί;** ('What shall we do, brothers?'): future active indicative, 1st plural. The two forms illustrate different morphologies within questions about how to proceed.
Rhetorical Questions
A **rhetorical question** is used to advance an argument, challenge, evaluation, or other discourse purpose rather than simply obtain unknown information. Its interpretation depends on the passage. There is no exclusive rhetorical-question mood or particle, and an author can answer a question that serves a rhetorical purpose.
In **Romans 8:31**, **Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν πρὸς ταῦτα;** opens a response to the preceding argument. The following **εἰ ὁ Θεὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, τίς καθ᾽ ἡμῶν;** challenges the effectiveness of opposition on the stated premise. It need not deny that opponents exist. Distinguish the question's grammatical form from the conclusion supported by its discourse context; neither punctuation nor an assumed theological conclusion alone determines the classification.
**Romans 8:31** — **Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν πρὸς ταῦτα; εἰ ὁ Θεὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, τίς καθ᾽ ἡμῶν;** ('What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?'). Read the sequence as part of Paul's argument, not as a rule that every question beginning τί is rhetorical.
Elliptical Questions
An **elliptical question** leaves material unexpressed because the discourse makes the inquiry intelligible. In **Romans 3:9**, **Τί οὖν;** ('What then?') points back to the preceding argument and forward to its development. It does not itself specify one uniquely recoverable missing verb.
In **Romans 8:31**, **τίς καθ᾽ ἡμῶν;** can be rendered 'who is against us?' with an English copula. A Greek verbless question is not automatically defective, and supplying English 'is' does not prove that a word was lost from the Greek text. Elliptical and rhetorical are compatible descriptions: one concerns expression, the other discourse use.
**Romans 3:9, opening question** — **Τί οὖν;** ('What then?'). The continuation supplies the topic; this short question alone does not settle the interpretation of the next verb, προεχόμεθα.
**Romans 8:31, excerpt** — **τίς καθ᾽ ἡμῶν;** ('who is against us?').
Paradigms
Types of Questions
These labels overlap: yes/no and content describe structure, deliberative and rhetorical describe use. Negative bias does not guarantee a reply; deliberative function does not require one mood. Examples are checked HBS BYZ04 excerpts.
| Description | Typical cue / qualification | Attested example |
| Yes/no, affirmative bias | οὐ commonly invites affirmation; the actual reply may differ | οὐκ ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς τοὺς δώδεκα ἐξελεξάμην; (John 6:70) |
|---|---|---|
| Yes/no, negative bias | μή or μήτι commonly invites a negative reply | μή τι προσφάγιον ἔχετε; (John 21:5) |
| Content question | Interrogative pronoun or adverb; read its syntactic role | σὺ τίς εἶ; — 'Who are you?' (John 1:19) |
| Deliberative use | Subjunctive can occur; the checked Acts 2:37 uses future indicative | πῶς ὁμοιώσωμεν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ; (Mark 4:30) |
| Rhetorical use | Context supplies the argumentative function; not a unique mood | εἰ ὁ Θεὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, τίς καθ᾽ ἡμῶν; (Romans 8:31) |
Chapter glossary
- τίς — who? which? (interrogative)
tis
pronoun
Interrogative pronoun: masculine/feminine nominative singular τίς, 'who?/which?'; neuter τί, 'what?'. Inflected forms take the case required by their construction. Its own accent distinguishes it from enclitic indefinite τις, but the mere presence of any written accent is not a universal diagnostic.- τί — what? why?
ti
pronoun
Neuter nominative/accusative singular of interrogative τίς, 'what?'; also used adverbially for 'why?' (Mark 12:15). Determine the role from the construction rather than assigning one function to every occurrence.- ποῦ — where?
pou
adverb
Interrogative adverb of place, 'where?', usable in direct and embedded questions. It bears a circumflex in conventional accentuation; not all interrogative words have an acute.- πῶς — how?
pōs
adverb
Interrogative adverb of manner or means, 'how?', used in direct and embedded questions. It bears a circumflex. In Mark 4:30 it accompanies a deliberative subjunctive; in Luke 22:2 it occurs in an embedded inquiry.- διὰ τί — why?
dia ti
adverb
Interrogative expression 'why?/for what reason?', formed from διά with accusative τί. Adverbial in function, prepositional in structure; not the instrumental 'through what?'. The checked Matthew 9:11 prints διατί as one word.- — yes/no question
syntax
A question asking whether a proposition holds; also called a polar question. It need not contain a negative. οὐ commonly invites affirmation and μή a negative reply, but question bias neither guarantees the answer nor establishes truth.- — deliberative question
syntax
A question about what should be done or how to proceed. It can use a subjunctive (Mark 4:30, ὁμοιώσωμεν), but future indicative also occurs (the checked Acts 2:37, ποιήσομεν). Deliberation is a function, not a mood-only definition.- — rhetorical question
syntax
A question used to advance an argument, challenge, or other discourse purpose rather than simply obtain unknown information. Its function is contextual; it can be answered by its own speaker and can also be direct, content, or elliptical in form.