"Tell me why you left your previous job." Question or Not?

Link to pertinent post

It is very comforting in a way to see the pool of people who consider themselves those who frequent the Writing Section to dry and shrivel. This is a very justifiable sentiment to hold for quite a number of reasons. They tend to advertise what they write in the most annoying way possible, they tend to be incredibly argumentative, they tend to make mountains out a molehill, they tend to react to the mildest of criticism and they tend to conduct polls in the wrong section of the forum. Long time users may be familiar with this thread:

https://www.fakku.net/forums/incoherent-babbling/should-i-do-poetry-or-books

Alas, like stains caused by bodily fluids, users from the Writing Section just refuse to go away.

This poll is started because of an exercise in splitting hairs between two people who consider themselves part of the Writing Section. Does a question necessarily need to end with a question mark? After all, everyone has sat for an examination where some questions end in full stops / periods.

There was a heated argument and both sides are in a deadlock. One of them so happened to have the brilliant idea of resolving this dispute by putting that question to a democratic vote, that most esteemed way of resolving a dispute.

Here are the options which you, the participant in this poll, can choose.

1. Yes. The phrase "Tell me why you left your previous job." is a question because it is an interview question.

2. No. The phrase "Tell me why you left your previous job." is not a question because it does not end in a question mark and it is really a command. There is ought to be something called an interview command.

3. F*** you. This is the second most succinct answer to this question and indeed this poll and whoever came up with it. The more succinct answers are 'Yes' and 'No'.

Do you not know what an indirect question is?

Meh, I'd say it's more of an instruction with a question attached to it.

dafuq thats a command not a question mah nigga

Thought you were making a Random thread about people's job histories rather than whether the statement is a question.

That statement is more of an instruction with the same intent as asking a question. They are telling you to tell them why you left your last job, not asking why you left in the conventional sense. Some like doing that to see how candidates react. But for all intents and purposes of the job interview it is still considered an interview question because more common variants like "Why did you leave your last job?" exist.

Does it really matter though? It's essentially the same shit.

Tell me why you left you previous job.

Why did you leave your previous job?


Is the writing section genuinely filled with dummies, ;^) ?

There was seriously a heated argument about this?

son we argue about vanilla, ntr, yaoi, traps, why kuroneko is better, why k-on is shit, why is id 2d better than a real vagina and why is neet neat.

Fair enough. Guess I held the Writing Section to too high standards.

It shouldn't be surprising considering that the Writing Section has a number of psychopaths! I am very, very familiar with the user who started this poll and he told me that he is considering coming up with more polls over silly and trivial matters like,

1. "Can you describe a moment when you feel like doing your best in work?"

"Describe a moment when you feel like doing your best in work?"

Can "Describe a moment when you feel like doing your best in work?" be considered a question?

a. Yes
b. No
c. Too long, didn't read.


2. How do you feel about being poor and Black in America?

a. Very good
b. Good
c. Bad
d. Very bad
e. F**k you

Someone should start another poll or a petition appealing to the powers-that-be to lock him up!

If you want to support the theory that this is a 'question' and not a 'command', this would probably be a better way of wording your statement.

There is probably a more concise way of saying exactly what I just wrote in.

If you feel like you can shorten it, then feel free.

In all honesty, I don't believe a democratic vote is going to lead you to a definitive conclusion.

I suggest deciding what you think is the most appropriate, since other than the cut-and-dried, grammar-based definition that states "No, a sentence without a question mark is not a question, a question mark is necessary to create an inquiry," you're unlikely to find something definitive here.

If you believe that English grammar rules take precedence over personal opinions, then it is indeed an instruction rather than a question, with the implications of wishing to receive information in the same manner as if a question had been asked.

In the end, it doesn't matter, because what you should be focusing on isn't the nature of the command or question itself, but the response you give to the aforementioned, because that is what actually has an impact on your career opportunities, or lack thereof.

We need to start arguing about the lack of futa around here.