Interjections
Interjections are short words or phrases that show emotion. It often stands alone, unconnected to a sentence and even hesitation. Interjection (noun): a part-of-speech that expresses emotion. It often stands alone, unconnected to a sentence.
Hello! That’s an interjection.
Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!, Um or Ah! 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.
Interjections are frequently followed by an exclamation mark (!), which itself is used to express emotion.
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.
An interjection is one of the 9 parts of speech.
Typical interjections are:
- Ah! Er. Hey. Ouch! Umm.
- Oh my God! Bloody hell! Jesus H. Christ!

And here are some interjections in context:
- Hey! Don’t be so lazy!
- Well, let’s think about it.
- Ouch! That hurts!
- Lima is the capital of…er…Peru.
Interjections are not normally used in formal writing, but they are common in speech (and therefore informal and fiction writing), where they show emotions such as anger, surprise and interest as well as convey hesitation.
Here’s a list of Interjections
Interjection* | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
ah | expressing pleasure | Ah, that feels good. |
ah | expressing realization | Ah, now I understand. |
ah | expressing resignation | Ah well, it can’t be helped. |
ah | expressing surprise | Ah! I’ve won! |
alas | expressing grief or pity | Alas, she’s dead now. |
dear | expressing pity | Oh dear! Does it hurt? |
dear | expressing surprise | Dear me! That’s a surprise! |
eh | asking for repetition | It’s so hot today. Eh? Did you hear me? |
eh | expressing inquiry | What do you think about that, eh? |
eh/oh | expressing surprise | Eh/Oh, You’re here! |
eh | inviting agreement | Come on, eh? |
er | expressing hesitation | Brasilia is the capital of…er…Brazil. |
Dang | expressing surprise | |
God/Gee | expressing anger, surprise, worry [some people may consider this offensive] | God, what a negative attitude you have. |
hello | expressing greeting | Hello John. How are you today? |
hello | expressing surprise | Hello! My car’s gone! |
hey | calling attention | Hey! look at that! |
hey | expressing surprise, joy etc | Hey! That’s a good idea! |
hi | expressing greeting | Hi! What’s new? |
hmm | expressing hesitation, doubt or disagreement | Hmm. I’m not so sure. |
oh, o | expressing pain | Oh! I’ve got a toothache. |
oh, o | expressing pleading | Oh, pretty please say “yes”! |
Okay | expressing agreement | Okay. I’ll do it right now. |
Oy Vey | expressing dismay or disbelief | |
ouch | expressing pain | Ouch! That hurts! |
Phew | expressing relief | Phew! Glad I made it on time |
uh | expressing hesitation | Uh…I don’t know. |
uh-huh | expressing agreement | Shall we go? / Uh-huh. |
um, umm | expressing hesitation | 85 divided by 5 is…um…17. |
well | expressing surprise | Well, you never! |
well | introducing a remark | Well, what did he say? |
Woops/Ooops | expressing Regret | |
wow | expressing amazement | Wow! Your guitar is so cool! |
Yikes | expressing pain or Shock | Yikes, his eyes look so weird after that facelift |
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