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.