Spanish uses inverted punctuation because questions and exclamations are marked with two signs, not one: an opening sign and a closing sign. The RAE says the opening sign must be placed exactly where the question or exclamation starts, even if that is not the beginning of the full sentence.

✅ ¿Dónde está el restaurante?
Not: Dónde está el restaurante?
The RAE explicitly says it is incorrect in Spanish to omit the opening question mark in direct questions.

✅ ¡Qué frío hace!
Not: Qué frío hace!
Spanish treats exclamation marks the same way: they are also double signs.

✅ Pedro, ¿cuántos años tienes?
The RAE notes that the opening sign goes where the interrogative part actually begins, even if the full sentence starts earlier.

✅ ¿¡Cómo!? or ¡¿Cómo?!
The RAE says combining both signs is valid when the sentence is both interrogative and exclamatory.

The most common mistake is copying English punctuation habits and writing only the closing sign:

❌ Como estás?
✅ ¿Cómo estás?

❌ Que sorpresa!
✅ ¡Qué sorpresa!

The RAE says this is incorrect in standard Spanish because direct questions and exclamations require the opening sign as well.

Always reread the subject line, greeting, and final sentence before sending.

If the sentence is a direct question, open with ¿ and close with ?
If it is a direct exclamation, open with ¡ and close with !

A simple memory trick:

Also remember: if the question or exclamation starts mid-sentence, the opening sign goes exactly there, not at the start of the whole line.