Interjections are words or short phrases that typically express a sudden feeling or reaction.
Words such as: wow / ouch / oh / hmm / hey / oops
The job of interjections is to add emotion, tone, or a human reaction to what’s being said.
That said, they work differently from other parts of speech and don’t follow the usual rules of grammar.
Interjections in Use
- D’oh! – Homer Simpson [The Simpsons, 1989]
- Ha! I knew you’d say that.
- Hmm, I’m not so sure about that.
- Hey, how you doing? – Joey Tribbiani [Friends, 1994]
- Well, well, well, what do we have here?
* Interjections
- D’oh! – Homer Simpson [The Simpsons, 1989]
How Interjections Work in a Sentence
As mentioned above, interjections are different from other parts of speech. This is because they don’t describe, modify, or connect anything.
Most words in English have a fixed grammatical role. Nouns name things, verbs describe actions, adjectives describe qualities, and so on. Interjections don’t work this way. They don’t follow the same grammatical rules as other parts of speech.
Let’s take a look at the breakdown of a sentence containing an interjection:
| Interjection | Subject | Verb | Complement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wow, | the views here | are | incredible. |
Put together, we have:
- Wow, the views here are incredible.
In this sentence, the views is the subject (what the sentence is about), are is the verb, and incredible is the complement (describing the views). Each of these plays a grammatical role in the sentence.
The interjection wow doesn’t do any of this. It isn’t the subject, it isn’t a verb, and it isn’t describing or modifying anything. It has no grammatical connection to the rest of the sentence.
Types of Interjections
Interjections express something immediate, whether that’s a reaction, a feeling, or a prompt. We can loosely group them into three categories by the kind of response they capture.
Emotive Interjections
These express a feeling or emotional reaction, such as surprise, joy, frustration, relief, or disgust.
Common emotive interjections include: wow / ouch / yay / ugh / phew / yuck / whoa / hooray
Example:
- Whoa! The stars are so clear tonight.
Here, whoa captures an emotional reaction. The speaker seemingly looks up at the sky in wonder before commenting on the stars. It’s the sight of the stars that prompts an emotive interjection in the form of whoa.
More examples:
- Yay! It’s snowing!
- Hooray! We won!
- Yuck! I can’t eat that.
Cognitive Interjections
These signal a mental process, such as realising something, remembering, hesitating, or working something out.
Common cognitive interjections include: oh / hmm / ah / well / um / uh / er / huh
Example:
- Oh, so that’s what this button does.
Here, oh marks the exact moment something clicks. The speaker has just figured something out, and the interjection captures that shift. In this case, they’ve pressed a button without knowing what it did, seen the result, and now it all makes sense.
More examples:
- Ah, now I understand what you mean.
- Hmm, let me think on it and I’ll get back to you.
- Well, I hadn’t thought of it that way.
Note: Most cognitive interjections mark the moment a thought arrives. Oh is a realisation. Ah is understanding. Hmm is weighing something up. However, some fill the gap before the thought has landed. Words like um, uh, and er tend to appear when we’re still searching for the right words. They are often referred to as filler words and are extremely common in spoken English, and how often they appear varies naturally from person to person.
Volitive Interjections
These express a want or a need directed at someone else, whether that’s getting their attention, making a request, giving a command, or signalling that something needs to happen right now.
Common volitive interjections include: hey / shh / shoo / psst / oi / yo / ahem / hi / hello / bye / goodbye / cheers / please / bravo / careful / encore
Example:
- Shh! This is a library.
Here, shh isn’t expressing an emotion or a thought. It’s a direct command to be quiet. The speaker, clearly keen on upholding the universal golden rule of libraries, hears noise and responds with an immediate demand for silence. That outward direction, aimed at changing someone’s behaviour, is what makes it volitive.
More examples:
- Psst, come and look at this. (getting someone’s attention)
- Hey, can you pass the salt? (making a request)
- Steady! Hold the mirror level. (giving a command)
- Careful! That step’s loose. (signalling urgency)
Note: Words like stop, go, and wait are structurally similar to volitive interjections, especially when stated on their own. However, these are imperative verbs (command verbs). We cover these on our Grammatical Mood page.
Punctuating Interjections
In speech, our voice does most of the work. A change in pitch, volume, or pace tells the listener exactly what we mean. In writing, we don’t have that luxury. Punctuation steps in to tell the reader how to hear it.
This matters more with interjections than with almost any other part of speech, because the same word can mean very different things depending on how it’s punctuated.
Take oh as an example:
- Oh! That’s amazing! (excitement)
- Oh, I see. (understanding)
- Oh. (disappointment)
- Oh? (curiosity)
The interjection oh hasn’t changed, but the reaction behind it shifts completely each time. The punctuation is what guides the reader.
An exclamation mark gives an interjection force. It tells the reader the reaction is loud, sudden, or deeply felt:
- Ouch! I stubbed my toe.
- Yes! We did it!
- Pivot! Pivot! Pivot! – Ross Geller [Friends, 1994]
A comma does the opposite. It softens the interjection and lets it sit naturally within the rest of the sentence:
- Well, it depends on how you look at it.
- Right, who’s ready to go?
- Now, where were we?
At this point, you might be wondering whether interjections always appear at the start of a sentence. They don’t.
They can also sit in the middle, set off with commas on either side:
- I thought I knew the way, and, well, I didn’t.
- The hotel was, hmm, not quite what the photos suggested.
- He’s been gone for, oh, about an hour now.
In this position, the interjection typically works as a moment of pause, where the speaker hesitates or reacts before continuing their thought.
A full stop or question mark comes into play when an interjection stands alone. The punctuation shapes how we read it:
- Wow. (quiet amazement, or sarcasm depending on context)
- Really? (disbelief, or wanting confirmation)
- Oh. (a flat reaction, perhaps disappointment or quiet acceptance)
Words That Double as Interjections
Some interjections are words that exist purely as interjections. For example: ouch, wow, oops, psst, yikes. These don’t belong to any other part of speech. They are interjections and nothing else.
Many interjections, though, are ordinary words that take on an interjection role when used as a sudden, standalone reaction. The difference comes down to what the word is doing in the sentence. If the word is expressing a reaction, it’s working as an interjection. If the word is performing its usual grammatical job, it’s not.
Right is a common example of a word that can work as an interjection or as a completely different part of speech, depending on context:
- Right, let’s move on. (interjection – prompting action)
- Turn right at the traffic lights. (adverb – giving direction)
- That’s the right answer. (adjective – meaning correct)
A useful way to tell the difference is to try removing the word. If the sentence still works without it, the word is most likely functioning as an interjection.
For example:
- Right, let’s move on. > Let’s move on.
Here, the meaning doesn’t change. The sentence works perfectly fine without right. But with it, we get a sense of the speaker gathering everyone’s attention before pressing ahead. That extra layer of feeling is what interjections bring.
Here are some more examples:
- Man, that was a nice steak. (normally a noun)
- We’ve got the whole week off. Brilliant! (normally an adjective)
- Rubbish! I don’t believe that. (normally a noun)
- Lovely! Paella is my favourite. (normally an adjective)
Some multi-word phrases work the same way:
- Oh dear! What happened here?
- Good grief! How long have you been waiting?
- No way! Are you serious?
- Well done! That was a fantastic performance.
In each case, context is what helps us tell the difference. When these words are expressing a reaction rather than carrying out a grammatical role, they are functioning as interjections.
Interjections and Formality
Interjections belong mostly to spoken English and informal writing, things like text messages, personal emails, and casual conversation. In formal writing, such as academic essays, business reports, or professional correspondence, they are generally avoided.
Consider applying for a job and contacting the employer:
✅ – I am writing to express my interest in the position of Marketing Manager.
Now compare that with:
❌ – Hey! I am writing to express my interest in the position of Marketing Manager. (unprofessional)
❌ – Yo! I am writing to express my interest in the position of Marketing Manager. (inappropriate)
❌ – Oi! I am writing to express my interest in the position of Marketing Manager. (unthinkable)
The sentence is exactly the same each time, but the interjection changes the tone completely.
That said, interjections can work well in writing where a conversational or lively tone is the goal. Creative writing, blog posts, advertising copy, and dialogue in fiction all use interjections to bring personality and authenticity to the text.