Interjections are words, sounds, or short expressions that show a sudden reaction, emotion, greeting, hesitation, or call for attention. They often stand apart from the rest of a sentence and are separated by punctuation.
Start with What Are Interjections? for the main types, punctuation rules, and examples. You can then explore detailed lessons on primary and secondary interjections, along with useful interjection lists.
Interjections can take exclamation marks, commas, periods, question marks, or ellipses. The right punctuation depends on how the expression is used and whether it stands alone or connects to the rest of the sentence. Compare: Oh! I didn’t expect to…
Secondary interjections are ordinary words or established expressions used independently to communicate reactions, judgments, or feelings. Examples include excellent, goodness, nonsense, and thank goodness. Some are familiar adjectives or nouns used to express a reaction. Others are conventional phrases that…
A secondary interjection is an ordinary word or established expression used independently to communicate a reaction, judgment, or response. Words such as excellent, goodness, and nonsense have other grammatical uses, but they can also function as interjections in particular situations.…
A primary interjection is a word or conventional sound used mainly as an interjection rather than as an ordinary noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. Expressions such as ouch, oops, aha, and shh can communicate pain, acknowledge a mistake, signal understanding,…
An interjection is a word, sound, or short expression used to communicate a feeling, reaction, or response. Expressions such as ouch, wow, oops, and hey can stand alone or appear alongside a sentence without becoming part of its main grammatical…