INTERJECTIONS

Interjections are included into the 9 parts of speech. Some grammarians believe interjections are the least important part of speech. That might be because interjections aren't generally required in order for the meaning of a sentence to be clear. Interjections are inserted into a sentence to express strong feelings, sudden emotion or to grab one’s attention normally in a word or two words. An interjection is not grammatically related to any other part of the sentence. They have no real grammatical value but English speakers use them all the time when speaking.

Interjections are rarely used in formal or academic writing unless in a quotation. They are most commonly used in dialogues, role-play, script writing, and narrative story-telling.

There are literally hundreds of interjections. They are designed to express a sentiment such as love, hate, surprise, awe, joy, happiness, wonder, fear, relief, sorrow, apology, indecision, anger, excitement, enthusiasm, disgust, boredom, hesitation, confusion, unhappiness, etc. However, some interjections can express a mild emotion, such as “Excuse me.”

Sometimes, introductory expressions like yes, no and indeed are also considered as interjections. Don’t forget that some interjections such as phew, ah, mmmm are sounds. 

You'll find interjections normally at the beginning of sentences, but we can find them also in the middle of sentences, at the end of sentences, and sometimes as standalone sentences on their own. When the interjection is mild, we can include it in a single sentence, separated from the rest of the words by a comma (,). When we want to use a strong interjection, then it should stand alone and be followed by an exclamation mark (!). Examples:

At the beginning: Oh no, I can't believe that it is snowing here again!

In the middle: In my opinion, my gosh, this is just the smartest thing you've ever said.

At the end: So, it's snowing again, huh?

Standalone: Oh gosh! I can't believe how late it is.

Interjections are an excellent way of expressing an emotion, but be careful and avoid overusing them.

Here is a list of interjections with meanings and example sentences. This list does not include all interjections but it does show the more common ones.