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Interjections

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!
When you are expressing a strong emotion, use an exclamation mark (!). A comma (,) can be used for a weaker emotion.

Interjections do the following:

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

  • Oops, I’m sorry. That was my mistake.
  • Geez! Do I need to do it again?
  • Oh, I didn’t know that.
2.Say yes or no—yes, no, nope:

  • Yes! I will do it!
  • No, I am not going to go there.
  • Nope. That’s not what I want.
3.Call attention—yo, hey:

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

[Quiz 29.1]

What should be B’s expression?

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

[Quiz 29.2]

What should be C’s expression?

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

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