English Interjections

English Interjections

English Interjections

            Interjections are words or phrases used to exclaim or protest or command and a lot more. They are short exclamations. They sometimes stand by themselves, but they are often contained within larger structures.

i.   Wow! I won the game!

ii.  Oh, I don’t know about that.

iii. I don't know what the hell you're talking about!

iv.   No, you shouldn’t have done that.

            Interjections like er and um are also known as “hesitation devices”. They are extremely common in English. People use them when they don’t know what to say, or to indicate that they are thinking about what to say. You should learn to recognize them when you hear them and realize that they have no real meaning.

            They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite often, usually more in speaking than in writing. .When interjections are inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical connection to the sentence.

            Below are some commonly used interjections with examples.

            An interjection is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!) when written.

Ah

Expressing pleasure:

          Ah that feels good.

Expressing realization:

            Ah, now I understand.

Expressing resignation:

            Ah well, it can’t be helped.

Expressing surprise:

          Ah! I’ve won!

Alas

Alas expressing grief or pity:

            Alas, she’s dead now.

Dear

Expressing pity.

          Oh dear! Does it hurt?

Expressing surprise:

Dear me! That’s a surprise!

Eh

Asking for repetition:

            It’s hot today. Eh? I said it’s hot today.

Expressing enquiry:

            What do you think of that, eh?

Expressing surprise:

            Eh! Really?

Inviting agreement:

            Let’s go, eh?

Er

Expressing hesitation:

            Lima is the capital of...er...Peru.

Hello

Expressing greeting:

            Hello Jan. How are you today?

Expressing surprise:

            Hello! My car’s gone!

Hey

Calling attention:

            Hey! Look at that! Expressing surprise, joy etc.

Hey! What a good idea!

Hi

Expressing greeting:

            Hi! What’s new?

Hmm

Expressing hesitation, doubt or disagreement

            Hmm. I’m not so sure.

Oh, oh expressing surprise:

            Oh! You’re here!

Expressing pain:

            Oh! I’ve got a toothache.

Expressing pleading:

Oh, please say ‘yes’!

Ouch

Expressing pain:

            Ouch! That hurts!

Uh

Expressing hesitation:

            Uh...I don’t know the answer to that.

Uh-huh

Expressing agreement:

Shall we go? “Uh-huh.

Um, umm

Expressing hesitation:

            85 divided by 5 is...urn... 17.

Well

Expressing surprise:

            Well, I never!

            Introducing a remark

            Well, what did he say?

Most mild interjections are treated as parenthetical elements and set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma or set of commas. If the interjection is more forceful, however, it is followed with an exclamation mark. Interjections are rarely used in formal or academic writing.