Interjections

Read the following sentences: 

1. Alas! We lost the match. 
2. Hurrah! We won the trophy. 
3. Hush! Don’t make any noise. 

In the above sentences, we can find out the emotions the sentences were trying to convey. We could easily identify whether the emotions the sentences were trying to convey were grief, joy, or quietness, because of the presence of words like alas, hurrah, and hush. 

These words are called interjections. 

Interjections are words used to express certain sudden feelings or emotions. The term interjection comes from the Latin words inter (between) and jacĕre (to throw). They speak (or throw in) feelings of joy, sadness, excitement, surprise, fear, or disgust. 

There is no set rule for where an interjection should be placed regarding other sentences. An interjection can be used before or after a statement that explains what is happening. You can also use an interjection alone, albeit this may not make sense if you haven’t sufficiently articulated the situation that prompted the interjection. Exclamation points are commonly used in interjections, but they are not required. 

When using an interjection in a sentence, think of it as a parenthetical element that stands alone from the remainder of the sentence. You can use parenthesis or commas to separate the interjections. 

Examples: 

• I might not have ended up being first, but, hey, at least I tried. 
• It will take us 12 hours (wow!) to reach there by road. 

Now, let us take a look at some commonly used interjections and their uses: 

• Oh is used for expressing sadness or wonder, like: 

Oh! I failed the exam. 

• Hush is used to expressing quietness, like: 

Hush! The manager is coming. 

• Ah is used for expressing pain or grief, like: 

Ah! I’m hurt. 

• Hurrah is used for expressing happiness or joy, like: 

Hurrah! We won the match. 

• Ouch is used for expressing sudden pain or embarrassment, like: 

Ouch! I just got bitten by an ant. 

• Alas is used for expressing grief, like: 

Alas! She is dead. 

• Oops is used for saying sorry, like: 

Oops! I forgot to do my homework again. 

• Wow is used for expressing. wonder or surprise, like: 

Wow! The moon looks beautiful. 

• Yuck is used for expressing disgust, like: 

Yuck! This cookie tastes horrible. 

• Bravo is used for expressing sudden praise and approval, like: 

Bravo! Cleverly executed.