Interjections

An interjection is a word that expresses some kind of emotion. It can be used as filler. Interjections do not have a grammatical function in the sentence and are not related to the other parts of the sentence. If an interjection is omitted, the sentence still makes sense. It can stand alone.

• Ouch! That hurts.
• Well, I need a break.
• Wow! What a beautiful dress!

When you are expressing a strong emotion, use an exclamation mark (!). A comma (,) can be used for a weaker emotion.

Interjections do the following:

1. Express a feeling—wow, gee, oops, darn, geez, oh:

• Oops, I’m sorry. That was my mistake.
• Geez! Do I need to do it again?
• Oh, I didn’t know that.

2. Say yes or no—yes, no, nope:

• Yes! I will do it!
• No, I am not going to go there.
• Nope. That’s not what I want.

3. Call attention—yo, hey:

• Yo, will you throw the ball back?
• Hey, I just wanted to talk to you about the previous incident.

4. Indicate a pause—well, um, hmm:

• Well, what I meant was nothing like that.
• Um, here is our proposal.
• Hmm. You really need to be on a diet.

[Quiz 29.1]

What should be B’s expression?

A: I got a perfect score on the math exam.
B:                      (Well. Wow! or Um.)

[Quiz 29.2]

What should be C’s expression?

C:                     ! (Nope, Hey, or Geez) My computer just broke.