1.1.9 Interjections

In this lesson, we will explore what an interjection is, the different types of interjections there are, and some examples of each. Interjections are words or short phrases used to show strong emotions, reactions, or feelings. They are often used in spoken English and informal writing to express surprise, excitement, joy, frustration, or other emotions. Interjections usually stand on their own and are often followed by an exclamation mark, but not always. While interjections are not as important to sentence structure as other word classes like nouns or verbs, they do help us understand the speaker’s feelings and tone. In this lesson, we will look at some common types of interjections and briefly mention others.

Interjections

Interjections are words or phrases that convey strong emotion or feelings (e.g. Wow! She looks strong. Oh no, she is running towards me. Thank God, she put down the sword, phew!)

An interjection is a word or short phrase used to express emotion, reaction, or sudden feeling. Interjections stand apart from the main structure of a sentence and are often followed by an exclamation mark or a comma. They can show surprise, excitement, anger, joy, pain, hesitation, or other emotions.

Interjections do not affect grammar rules of the sentence they are part of — they are used more for tone and expression. Especially within dialogue for characters or everyday life within our daily colloquialisms.

Common interjections include: Oh, wow, hey, ouch, yikes, hooray, uh, hmm, alas, oops, no, yes