What Are Interjections?

What Are Interjections?

Interjections are words or phrases which are used to express emotion or to catch the reader’s attention. Interjections are rarely used in formal or business writing. They usually use interjections in advertising, fiction, informal writing and personal letter.

Using interjections

Interjections are rarely used in academic or formal writing. They are, however, common in fiction or artistic writing.

Interjections are often used with exclamation mark.

Examples of interjections

This is a list of some English interjections:

·         Ah - Ah, what a delicious meal!

·         Aha - Aha, now I see what you mean!

·         Alas - I love football but, alas, I have no talent as a player.

·         Eh - Eh? Say it again - I wasn't listening.

·         Er - "Is he handsome?" " Er, well - he's got a nice friendly sort of face though he's not exactly handsome."

·         Hello - Hello, Paul. I haven't seen you for ages.

·         Hey - Hey! What are you doing with my car?

·         Hi - Hi, there!

·         Hmm - "He says he's doing it for our benefit." " Hmm, I'm still not convinced."

·         Oh - Is that for me? Oh, you're so kind!

·         Well - Well, what shall we do now?

1) COMMON INTERJECTION WORDS

Ah, alas, congratulation, good grief, great, help, hey, hooray, hurry, my goodness, never, no, no way, oh, ought, outstanding, ugh, wow…

Example:

- Congratulation! You pass your exam.

- Ouch! I cut my finger.

- Help! I’m going to fall down.

2) EXCLAMATION STRUCTURE

Exclamations are often constructed with “how, what, so and such”.

a) Exclamation with “how”

Formula₁:

How + Adjective + !

Example:

- Apple! How nice!

- John! How handsome!

Formula₂:

How + Adjective/Adverb + Subject + Verb + !

Example:

- How hot it is!

- How beautifully she sings!

b) Exclamation with “what”

Formula₁:

What + a/an + Adjective + Singular Countable Noun + !

Example:

- What a lovely girl!

- What an honest friend!

Formula₂:

What + Adjective + Plural Noun/Uncountable Noun + !

Example:

- What clever students!

- What nice soup!

Formula₃:

What + Object + Subject + Verb + !

Example:

- What a beautiful smile she has!

- What a friendly student he is!

c) Exclamation with “so”

Formula:

So + Adjective/Adverb + !

Example:

- He walks so fast!

- They are so generous!

d) Exclamation with “such”

Formula₁:

Such + a/an + (Adjective) + Singular Countable Noun + !

Example:

- She is such a mean girl!

- He is such a talkative person!

Formula₂:

Such + (Adjective) + Plural Noun/Uncountable Noun + !

Example:

- They have such lovely children!

- He drinks such strong coffee!

3) PUNCTUATION

Strong interjections are punctuated with an exclamation point. (Wow! Ouch! Hooray!). The first word following the exclamation point is capitalized since it is the first word in a new sentence.

Milder interjections are set off by commas and often introduce a sentence (indeed, yes, well). The word following the comma is not capitalized because it is a continuation of the same sentence.

Strong interjection:

- Excellent! That was a perfect dive.

- You may be saying, “Hey! Why is the office cold?”

Mild interjection:

- No, we can’t visit you this summer.

- Well, I just thought I’d ask.

Interjections are words used to express strong feeling or sudden emotion. They are included in a sentence (usually at the start) to express a sentiment such as surprise, disgust, joy, excitement, or enthusiasm.

An interjection is not grammatically related to any other part of the sentence.



Examples of interjections (shaded):

• Hey! Get off that floor!


• Oh, that is a surprise.


• Good! Now we can move on.


• Jeepers, that was close.

Yes and No

Introductory expressions such as yes, no, indeed, and well are also classed as interjections.



Examples:

• Indeed, this is not the first time the stand has collapsed.


• Yes, I do intend to cover the bet.


• I'm sure I don't know half the people who come to my house. Indeed, for all I hear, I shouldn't like to. (Oscar Wilde)


• Well, it's 1 a.m. Better go home and spend some quality time with the kids. (Homer Simpson)

Phew!

Some interjections are sounds.



Examples:

• Phew! I am not trying that again.


• Humph! I knew that last week. 


• Mmmm, my compliments to the chef.


• Ah! Don't say you agree with me. When people agree with me, I always feel that I must be wrong. (Oscar Wilde)

Related Page:

What Are Interjections?

Uses of Interjection Words