The upside-down question mark, also known as the inverted question mark, is a punctuation mark that is used in Spanish and some other languages to indicate the beginning of a question. It is placed at the beginning of a question, before the first word, and is followed by a regular question mark at the end of the question. For example, in Spanish, the question “Cmo ests?” (“How are you?”) would be written with an upside-down question mark at the beginning and a regular question mark at the end.
The upside-down question mark is important because it helps to distinguish between questions and statements in Spanish. Without the upside-down question mark, it can be difficult to tell whether a sentence is a question or a statement, which can lead to confusion. Additionally, the upside-down question mark is a unique and distinctive punctuation mark that adds character to the Spanish language.