A List of Interjections in English
A List of Interjections in English
A List of Interjections in English
"Ow!" "Ack!" "Yikes!" No doubt, anyone familiar with comic books is well versed in these pithy little
utterances. Interjections (or, as they're sometimes—somewhat misleadingly—called, exclamations) are
words or short phrases that stand apart from the rest of a sentence grammatically or appear on their own
without a subject and verb. Interjections may also be holophrases. Because they're often used to exclaim,
interjections often pack an emotional punch that can make fictional dialogue more realistic.
Interjections are the "outlaws of English grammar" as illustrated in this writer's other interjections piece:
101 Interjections
As you read through this list, see if you can pick out the interjections that have more than one meaning or
can be used in more than one way. Additional spellings or usages are listed in parentheses.
Interjections have traditionally been treated as one of the eight parts of speech (or word classes). But it's
worth keeping in mind that many interjections can do double or triple duty as other parts of speech. For
instance, when a word such as boy or awesome appears by itself (often followed by an exclamation point in
writing), it functions as an interjection:
But when that same word shows up syntactically integrated into a sentence, it usually operates as a different
part of speech. In the following examples, boy is a noun, and awesome is an adjective:
Words that are used only as interjections are called primary interjections, while words that also belong to
other word classes are called secondary interjections.
Oh! Here's something else to look out for. The meanings of interjections sometimes change depending on
the context in which they're used. The word oh, for example, may indicate surprise, disappointment, or
delight: