Whats It Called When You Ask a Question You Already Know the Answer to
Sometimes, you might observe yourself asking a question that you already know the answer to. While this might seem similar a pointless affair to practice, in that location are a few reasons for it. This article volition wait at synonyms for describing this blazon of question.
Which Terms Can Depict When You Inquire A Question You Already Know The Answer To?
There are a few words that we'll use to describe a question you already know the answer to. They include:
- Rhetorical question
- Testing the water
- Vapid question
The preferred version is "rhetorical question" because most native speakers understand the meaning that comes with it. We might inquire a rhetorical question when we already know the answer to something, and it uses a rhetorical device to depict attending to the answer.
Rhetorical Question
We'll start by going over what rhetorical questions are and how nosotros might be able to use them.
A rhetorical question is something yous might ask someone when you already know the answer. Nosotros might exercise this to effort and go them to sympathise what the answer is without having to outright say anything near it.
Whether nosotros're trying not to insult their intelligence or we're trying to show them that the reply is obvious, nosotros tin can utilize rhetorical questions when we know the answer. We might also utilise rhetorical questions when nosotros didn't expect somebody to answer something.
If we come up upwardly with a relatively challenging question, we might just be leaving it out in the open for people to ponder. However, if someone already has a good respond, they might surprise you with whatever they say, thus answering your rhetorical question.
Generally, a rhetorical question is a mutual idea to come across in English. Virtually native speakers know what the discussion means and will also use rhetorical questions when asking other people things that they already know the answer to.
While information technology's not e'er the best do, and some people might be offended and retrieve yous're insulting their intelligence, rhetorical questions are a great style to get a response from somebody (depending on the situation where you already know the answer to something).
You lot might run into "rhetorical questions" written as follows:
- I'one thousand going to ask yous a rhetorical question, and I want you lot to effort and figure out why I'm request it, okay? I don't need an answer.
- Who did this? I already know which one of y'all information technology was, which is why I asked a rhetorical question; I just demand y'all to own up to it.
- Can y'all stop asking me rhetorical questions and say what you really mean? I'yard tired of having to dance around you.
Testing The Water
Next, we'll look at "testing the h2o," which is a type of idiom nosotros tin utilise to talk most asking a question nosotros already know the respond to.
When we test the water, we're trying to gather information about something (by testing the group of people nosotros're in). We'll usually have the respond to the question, and nosotros'll desire to run into whether other people tin reply it as well.
Testing the water works especially well when somebody has done something wrong. If we know who did information technology only they oasis't endemic upwards yet, testing the water with a elementary "who did it" question is a slap-up way to see whether they'll ain up to their mistakes.
We might besides test the waters when we're trying to gauge other people's reactions to a question. Nosotros might have a skillful thought of the respond, simply if we're not 100% sure, and so we might exam the waters by asking our friends to come across how they respond to it instead.
Yous can run into "testing the water" written in the post-obit ways:
- I'k just testing the water, and then if I step out of line with one of my questions, feel free to let me know.
- I'1000 going to examination the water to see which one of them might have done it. I'll let you know what I find out from them.
- He was testing the water and defenseless me off guard! I answered his question, leaving me exposed as the one who messed up.
It can also utilize different verb forms for "testing" (i.due east., "test" or "tests"), which change based on the pronoun or tense that y'all use.
Vapid Question
Finally, we'll comprehend vapid questions, which are specific types of questions that we already know the answer to.
Vapid questions are uninteresting or unimportant questions that add no value to the overall discussion. Usually, we already know the respond to the question; we just didn't call up nearly the answer before we asked information technology.
The definition of "vapid," co-ordinate to The Cambridge Dictionary, is "showing no intelligence or imagination."
Typically, if yous speak earlier y'all recall, yous're decumbent to asking vapid questions. You do this past asking a question that adds null special to a discussion and tin exist answered chop-chop with a bit of thought or focus.
Yous may also enquire a vapid question when the answer is staring yous in the face, but yous haven't figured information technology out however. In these cases, you'll oft realize the answer equally soon as you end asking and apologize to everyone for asking such a useless and vapid question.
You might see it written in the following ways:
- He keeps asking me vapid questions, and I don't understand why he thinks they're going to be useful for him.
- Sorry, I don't hateful to enquire y'all vapid questions! I'one thousand really not on my A-game today.
- That was a vapid question, and it won't add anything of note to this discussion.
Why Do You lot Ask Questions To Which Yous Already Know The Answer?
While there aren't many great synonyms to use, information technology would nevertheless help to know why we might ask a question similar this in the first place. In that location are a few reasons that we might meet, which we'll listing.
- Y'all want to depict attention to the respond.
- You realized what the answer was later request the question.
- Yous want someone to acknowledge to their mistake.
Draw Attention To Answer
Start, let's look at cartoon attention to the reply. Why might we want to do this?
The most obvious reason is that we want everyone to be on the aforementioned page as us. While nosotros might already have the answer in mind, anybody around united states of america might not exist entirely caught upwardly on what'southward going on.
To help catch people upwardly, you lot might enquire the question in such a mode that people realize what the respond is with you. That manner, you don't have to outright say that you already knew the respond, and you tin can let other people piece of work information technology out too.
Drawing attention to the answer is a way of bringing everyone else into the mix without telling them that you already knew the answer to the question.
Realizing The Reply After
The side by side mode (and perhaps one of the more than mutual ones) is when we effigy out the answer after asking the question. Usually, we don't even give the responder plenty time to answer it as we figure out that the question was stupid and right ourselves.
In this style, the question can be known equally a "who's buried in Grant'south tomb question." This refers to the tomb where Ulysses South. Grant is cached, and people in one case asked this question to find out who was cached at that place without realizing that his name was already function of the tomb.
You lot might realize once you finish asking a question that the answer was function of the question already. In this way, you might correct yourself and apologize for asking the question because you realize that information technology was foolish to do.
Albeit A Mistake
If somebody has done something wrong, you usually have to get them to own up. It'southward best to ask these kinds of questions in informal situations because they're best done within friend groups or families.
Sometimes, fifty-fifty if you don't see the person who did something, you lot might have a good thought of who it was based on their method or previous discussions. If this is the case, you might want to ask a leading question that you already know the answer to because you want them to own upward.
We might try to force somebody to admit a mistake or ain up to wrongdoing past request, "who did this?" even when we know the respond.
Is Information technology OK To Ask A Question You Already Know The Answer To?
Generally, it'south okay to enquire a question you already know the answer to. We showed you all the means of doing and so above, and all of them are fine as long as you lot use them correctly it.
If you already know the answer to a question, you might take made a mistake and not realized the reply until it was too tardily, or you might be trying to get everyone to effigy out what the answer is.
While some people don't hold with the practice of asking a question yous already know the answer to, there is nada fundamentally wrong with doing so.
You may also like: eleven Words For Someone Who Asks A Lot Of Questions
Source: https://grammarhow.com/asking-a-question-you-already-know-the-answer-to/
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