Interjections: What They Are and Examples

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An English interjection communicates a writer’s or speaker’s feeling or focus in emphasizing a statement or drawing someone’s attention to it. It is a reaction to someone or something.

Interjections are independent and not grammatically related to other sentence components such as nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives (as well as subjects and predicates, including objects and prepositional phrases). An interjection also has no concise literal meaning.

Interjections: Types

Interjections represent colloquial expressions we use in everyday conversation in American English. Just a few examples include:

alas	good	ow
ah	great	shoot
boo	hey	terrific
gesundheit	man	whoa

As you might notice, some of these words are drawn from other parts of speech (e.g., great = adjective, man = noun, shoot = verb). Their category changes when they are used interjectionally.

Beyond single words, interjections also can be phrases or clipped clauses, as well as representations of sounds. The following are a few examples.

Phrase	Clause	Sound
holy cow	how lovely (it is, you are, etc.)	achoo
no kidding	what a joke (it is, that is, etc.)	eek
oh no	you bet	grrr

Some interjections are conversation fillers, such as umm, like, er, and mmm-hmm.

Because they are so colloquial, interjections are better applied in written dialogue and informal content. They should be used sparingly or not at all in formal writing.

Interjections: Placement

An interjection can occur anywhere in a sentence. While interjections appear most commonly before a sentence, they also can appear during or after a statement.

Examples

Holy cow! Did you see the size of that grasshopper?

His Halloween costume was, no joke, a cigarette machine that dispensed real packs.

The Patels are going to be at the banquet? Fantastic!

Interjections: Tone and Punctuation

The punctuation of interjections will depend on their intended tone within their context.

Many of them convey a sense of urgency or excitement. When they are “interjected” bursts of expression, they are typically punctuated with an exclamation point.

Examples

Boo! Find that ref a new pair of glasses!

Good grief! What made you think you could keep the frogs in the pantry?

Ow! My tooth really hurts.

Some interjections might also be mild or passing expressions as opposed to ones of greater emotion. These softer remarks are typically punctuated with a comma.

Examples

Oh, what shall we do now?

Um, I really wish you wouldn’t have said that.

Well, you do owe us $2,000.

These milder interjections may sometimes be entirely stand-alone expressions without the force of extra feeling. In these cases, they would be punctuated with a period or a question mark.

Examples

Man. I thought we had more time.

Can I go with you to the Eagles concert? You bet.

Oh, really? I’m not so sure about that.

When the interjection appears within the sentence, it would be set off by commas or em dashes.

Examples

His Halloween costume was, no joke, a cigarette machine that dispensed real packs.

His Halloween costume was—no joke—a cigarette machine that dispensed real packs.

Related Topic

Exclamatory Sentences: Usage and Examples

Pop Quiz

Identify the interjections in the following sentences.

1. Hey, would you mind helping me out with this?

2. Grrr. I can’t believe the assignment is due tomorrow.

3. Those wireless earbuds cost $200? What a joke!

4. Oh no! The train is already leaving!

5. The Panthers won the game by—no lie—54 points.

 

Pop Quiz Answers

1. Hey, would you mind helping me out with this?

2. Grrr. I can’t believe the assignment is due tomorrow.

3. Those wireless earbuds cost $200? What a joke!

4. Oh no! The train is already leaving!

5. The Panthers won the game by—no lie—54 points.

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