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Interjections

Hi! That's an interjection. :-)

Interjection is a big name for a little word. 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.

An interjection is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!) when written.

Here is a list of interjections with implied meanings and example sentences.

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.

What is an Interjection?

interjection (noun): a part-of-speech that expresses emotion

An interjection is one of the 9 parts of speech.

An interjection is a short word or phrase that shows emotion. It often stands alone, unconnected to a sentence.

Typical interjections are:

  • Ah! Er. Hey. Ouch! Umm.
  • My God! Bloody hell!

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.

Interjections are frequently followed by an exclamation mark (!), which itself is used to express emotion.