English Grammar Interjection

THE QUICK ANSWER An interjection is a word which is added to a sentence to make out or convey an emotion of a sentiment such as surprise, disgust, joy, excitement, or enthusiasm. It is not grammatically related to any other part of the sentence.

Examples:

• Hey! Get off that table!
• Oh, that is a real surprise.
• Good! Now we can proceed.
• Jeepers, that was close.

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!

Interjections do the following: 

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

• Oops, I’m sorry. I do understand that was my mistake.
• Wow! Can I go there with you?
• Oh, I didn’t know that he is your friend.

2. Say yes or no—yes, no, nope:

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

3. Call attention—yo, hey:

• Yo, will you throw the ball back to us?
• 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, you understood me wrong.
• Um, here is our proposal.
• Hmm. You really need to be on a diet.

Questions 1

What should be A’s expression?

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

Questions 2

What should be B’s expression?

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

Questions 3

What should be C’s expression?

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



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.

Here is a list of interjections with meanings and example sentences. This list does not include all interjections but it does show the more common ones.

interjection	meaning	example
ah	expressing pleasure	"Ah, that feels good."
	expressing realization	"Ah, now I understand."
	expressing resignation	"Ah well, it can't be heped."
	expressing surprise	"Ah! I've won!"
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, hullo	expressing greeting	"Hello John. 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, o	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...um...17."
well	expressing surprise	"Well I never!"
	introducing a remark	"Well, what did he say?"