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Interjections: Understanding how to correctly use them plus 8 downloadable study slides to use in the classroom or for self-study.

 

What are interjections?

Interjections are words that you can use to express a strong sense of emotion or feeling. An interjection is usually just a single word – and unlike any other part of English grammar, it doesn’t influence the grammar of a sentence in any way.

It doesn’t matter what tense the sentence is, who or what the subject is, what verbs you are using, or anything else. You can use interjections at any time, to add an extra touch of meaning.

Lots of different kinds of words can act as an interjection, from words like “yes” or “no”, to more emotive words such as “ouch”, “hurray”, or “hey”.

Different interjections can be used to express different kinds of emotions or feelings – from anger, happiness, surprise, to enthusiasm, boredom, and more.


Let’s take a look at some examples:

“Ouch! That really hurt.”

“Wow, that’s so beautiful!”

“Yuck, that tastes really disgusting.”

Interjections aren’t just for strong or extreme emotions though. They can also be used more mild or polite expressions of emotion. For example:

“Oh no, he’s back again.”

“Excuse me, may I leave?”

“Oh, I’m not feeling very well.”

Using interjections

In the examples we’ve looked at so far, interjections have been placed at the start of the sentence. This is one of the most common ways to use them, as by putting them right at the start, you can add an emotional impact to your sentence very easily.

When the interjection is right at the start, you might also want to add an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence, to add extra emphasis, for example:

“Hurray – we’re finally here!”

 But interjections don’t always have to be at the start of the sentence. While they don’t have any grammatical influence, you can still use them in different parts of the sentence, to express different kinds of feelings and tones.

For example, using an interjection at the end of a sentence can turn it into a question, or a rhetorical question that emphasises different kinds of feelings. Let’s look at some examples!

“This is a really interesting film, hmm?”

Putting the interjection at the end of the sentence makes it into a question, which might invite someone else to share their opinion with you, or ask them if they agree with you.

“Hmm! This is a really interesting film!”

Placing the interjection at the start instead makes it more of a statement, which is less likely to invite someone else to share their thoughts with you.

You could also put an interjection in the middle of a sentence, for a different kind of expression of feeling. For example:

“This is a really, hmm, interesting film.”

In this sentence, putting the interjection in the middle helps to convey a feeling of uncertainty or doubt instead.


A
aah
ack
agreed
ah
aha
ahem
alas
all right
amen
argh
as if
aw
ay
aye
B
bah
blast
boo hoo
bother
boy
brr
by golly
bye
C
cheerio
cheers
chin up
come on
crikey
curses
D
dear me
doggone
drat
duh
E
easy does it
eek
egads
er
exactly
F
fair enough
fiddle-dee-dee
fiddlesticks
fie
foo
fooey
G
g'day
gadzooks
gah
gangway
gee
gee whiz
geez
gesundheit
get lost
get outta here
go on
good
good golly
good job
gosh
gracious
great
grr
gulp
H
ha
ha-ha
hah
hallelujah
harrumph
haw
hee
here
hey
hmm
ho hum
hoo
hooray
hot dog
how
huh
hum
humbug
hurray
huzza
I
I say
ick
is it
ixnay
J
jeez
just a sec
just kidding
just wondering
K
kapish
L
la
la-di-dah
lo
long time
look
look here
lordy
M
man
meh
mmm
most certainly
my
my my
my word
N
nah
naw
never
no
no can do
no thanks
no way
nooo
not
nuts
O
oh
oh no
oh-oh
oho
okay
okey-dokey
om
oof
ooh
oopsey
over
oy
oyez
P
peace
pew
pff
phew
pish posh
psst
ptui
Q
quite
R
rah
rats
ready
right
right on
roger
roger that
rumble
S
say
see ya
shame
shh
shoo
shucks
sigh
sleep tight
snap
sorry
sssh
sup
T
ta
ta ta
ta-da
take that
tally ho
tch
thanks
there
there there
time out
toodles
touche
tsk
tsk-tsk
tut
tut-tut
U
ugh
uh
uh-oh
um
ur
urgh
V
very nice
very well
voila
vroom
W
wah
well
well done
well, well
what
whatever
whee
when
whew
whoa
whoo
whoopee
whoops
whoopsy
why
word
wow
wuzzup
Y
ya
yea
yeah
yech
yikes
yippee
yo
yoo-hoo
you bet
you don't say
you know
yow
yum
yummy
Z
zap
zounds
zowie
zzz













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