Interjections

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a2375

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interjections

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Word Classes—Grammar

Grades

Secondaire 1

Secondaire 2

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Secondaire 5

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Anglais

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Contenu

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What Are Interjections?

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what-are-interjections

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Common Interjections

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common-interjections

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Anchor

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Spelling, Meaning and Pronunciation of Interjections

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spelling-meaning-and-pronunciation-of-interjections

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Anchor

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For Advanced Users—Acronyms Used as Interjections

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for-advanced-users-acronyms-used-as-interjections

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What Are Interjections?

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what-are-interjections

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Interjections are short words or expressions like Yay! and Wow!

They are used in sentences to express reactions and feelings.

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When to use interjections?

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when-to-use-interjections

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Interjections can be used in various contexts.

They are used in:

writing
speech
casual situations
informal situations

In formal situations, interjections should be avoided.

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How to use interjections?

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how-to-use-interjections

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There is no specific placement for interjections in sentences. However, they need to be separated from the rest of the sentence with punctuation.

Interjections can be placed:

at the beginning of a sentence
in the middle of a sentence
at the end of a sentence
before a sentence
after a sentence

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Interjection placed at the beginning of a sentence

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Man wearing a magician hat video-calling his friend.

Description

When inserted at the beginning of a sentence, the interjection is followed by a comma.

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Interjection placed in the middle of a sentence

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Description

When inserted in the middle of a sentence, the interjection needs to be enclosed by commas or parentheses.

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Interjection placed at the end of a sentence

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When placed at the end of a sentence, the interjection must be preceded by a comma.

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Interjection after a sentence

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Description

When placed by themselves after a sentence, interjections function as full sentences and must be followed by a period, an ellipsis or an exclamation mark.
The punctuation choice strongly impacts the way the reader will interpret the interjection.

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Readers and listeners rely on context to understand interjections.

Interjections can be used to express neutral, positive and/or negative reactions and feelings. This is why context plays an important role in understanding the meaning of interjections.

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3 columns

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33% / 33% / 33%

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Neutral

Image

Magician on stage, being greeted by judges at a magician’s competition.

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Positive

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Negative

Image

Two magicians greeting each other backstage.

Title (level 2)

Common Interjections

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common-interjections

Contenu

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To Express Confirmation

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to-express-confirmation

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Corps

Mh-hmm	Cool	Uh-huh
Ya	Yep	Yeah
Sure	Okay	Oh yes

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Text messages between a magician and his assistant.

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To Express Excitement

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to-express-excitement

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2 columns

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50% / 50%

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Corps

Whoopee	Hurrah	Yay
Yahoo	Yeah	Yeehaw
Yippee	Sweet	Terrific

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Description

In informal writing, repeating the final letter of the interjection can help readers understand the tone and attitude of the person who used it.

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To Express Greetings

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to-express-greetings

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2 columns

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50% / 50%

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Corps

Hi	Hello	Hey
Howdy	Wassup	Bye

Second column

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Magician and his assistant greeting their audience.

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To Express Surprise

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to-express-surprise

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2 columns

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50% / 50%

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Positive Surprise

Hi	Hello	Hey
Howdy	Wassup	Bye

Second column

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Crowd surprised to see a magician pulling an aardvark out of a hat.

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Negative Surprise

Wow	Woah	Really	Oh no
Jeez	Good grief	Zounds	Yikes

Second column

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Spectator horrified to see the magician about to cut his assistant in half.

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To Express Hesitation or Consideration

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to-express-hesitation-or-consideration

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2 columns

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50% / 50%

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Corps

Um	Hmmm	Uh
I guess	Er	Let's see

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To Express Relief

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to-express-relief

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2 columns

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50% / 50%

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Oof	Phew	Whew
Oh	Ah	Crikey

Second column

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Woman relieved she got out of the water tank on time.

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To Express Disgust

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to-express-disgust

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2 columns

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50% / 50%

First column

Corps

Yuck	Ew	Ugh	Yikes
Yech	Ick	Bleh	Ack

Second column

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Magician performing the mouth coil magic trick. Food is coming out with the scarf and the crowd is disgusted.

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To Express Disappointment

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to-express-disappointment

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Corps

Boo	Oh	Oh no
Oh dear	Oh well	Aw
Ah, I see	Pfft	Ugh

Second column

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Woman sitting on stage, on a chair. The magician is showing her a card that isn’t the one she picked. The assistant is standing next to them, disappointed.

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To Express Pain

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to-express-pain

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Corps

Oof	Ugh	Ow
Ouch	Yeow	Yeowch

Second column

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Blowing fire trick gone wrong. The magician’s assistant’s clothes are on fire.

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To Express Irritation

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to-express-irritation

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50% / 50%

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Corps

Argh	Gee	Gosh	Come on
Sheesh	Dang	Duh	Watch it

Second column

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Woman being carried away from the stage on a stretcher. The magician is standing on stage, looking sorry.

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To Ask for Silence/ Call for Attention

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to-ask-for-silence-call-for-attention

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2 columns

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Corps

Hey			Shh			Ahem			Hush
Shush				Listen				Psst

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Magician asking his audience to be quiet.

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Other Interjections

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other-interjections

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Interjection	Meaning	Example
Alas	To express sadness or regret	“Alas, we will continue the show without my assistant.”
Boo	To scare people by surprising them	“Boo!” “Ahhh! You scared me.”
Boo-hoo	To express fake crying when judging that someone is being over-sensitive.	“Boo-hoo. Cry me a river.” “That’s not very nice of you. I’m actually sad here.’’
Bravo	To praise someone	“Bravo Doug. Despite the fire and your assistant almost drowning, your first show was a success.”
Duh	To express that something is obvious	“Do you think Emmy will want to get back on stage with you?” “Well, duh. She’s my best friend. She knows it was an accident.”
Eureka	To celebrate a discovery or an invention	“Eureka! I found my bad luck hat. Next time, that’s the one I’ll wear.”
Eh?	To express confusion	“Eh? You have a bad luck hat?” “Yeah, it’s the one I wore during my audition for Magicians Got Talent …”
Gulp	To imitate the sound of swallowing to express stress	“Have you talked to our manager since the show?” “No (gulp), I’m too afraid he’ll tell me the tour is cancelled.
Ha-ha	To sarcastically laugh	“One of these days, we’ll laugh about it.” “Ha-ha, I guess we will …”
Hehe	To express a giggle	“Remember that time I put you on fire?” “Hehe, yes. The good old days.”
Mmmm	To express pleasure	“Mmmm … this head massage feels amazing. Thank you.”
Meh	To express disinterest in something	“Mother, did you like the show?” “Meh. Not really.”
Mwah	To imitate the sound of blowing a kiss	“Okay, I’ll see you tonight. Mwah!”
Nah	To express “no”	“Do you want to hang out tomorrow?” “Nah, I’ll stay home and rest.”
Nana na nana	To playfully mock someone	“Nana na nana. I stayed underwater longer than Magicio’s assistant.” “I don’t think this is something you should brag about.”
Ooh	To express interest	“I have something to tell you.” “Ooh? You do?”
Oops	To recognize that a mistake was made	“Oops. I really should have arrived earlier to rehearse the fire trick.”
Pew	To express that something stinks	“Pew, Harper! Did you fart again?”
Pff	To express that you are unimpressed	“Magicio also did the fire trick with his audience yesterday.” “Pff, I bet it wasn’t that good.” “Well, at least no one was burned.”
Shoo	To scare/send away a person/an animal	“Harper, I need a little bit of privacy. Shoo!”
Uh-oh	To express concern that something bad will happen	“Uh-oh, I think Harper is about to be sick.”
Whoopsie/Whoops	To recognize that a mistake was made	“Whoops. My bad. I left the food on the counter.” “Yeah, she definitely ate it. And now, she’s definitely sick.”
Yum	To express that something is tasteful or attractive	“Yum. These tempura shrimp look delicious.”
Zzzz	To express boredom or fatigue	“I’m feeling sleepy. Zzzz.” “Me too. Goodnight Doug.”

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Spelling, Meaning and Pronunciation of Interjections

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spelling-meaning-and-pronunciation-of-interjections

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The spelling, meaning and pronunciation of many interjections can vary depending on the context and intentions of the person using them.

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Corps

For example, the interjection Ah can be spelled in various ways to express different emotions depending on the context.

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Magician talking to his manager. He is disappointed to learn that his tour is getting cancelled.

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Magician talking to his manager. He is excited to learn that his tour is being renewed.

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For Advanced Users—Acronyms Used as Interjections

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for-advanced-users-acronyms-used-as-interjections

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For Advanced Users—Acronyms Used as Interjections

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Some acronyms belong on the interjection list.

Acronyms are abbreviations of longer words formed with the initials of the words.
For example, LOL is the acronym for Laughing out loud.

Acronyms are considered interjections when their long-form version expresses a reaction or an emotion.

Acronym	Long-Form	Interjection?	Explanation
OMG	Oh my god	✔	Expresses surprise/shock
ILY	I love you	✔	Expresses affection/love
LOL	Laughing out loud	✔	Expresses laughter
BRB	Be right back	X	Does not express a reaction or an emotion
LMK	Let me know	X	Does not express a reaction or an emotion
BTW	By the way	X	Does not express a reaction or an emotion

Title (level 2)