How about we learn Interjections today and see some examples to understand how they work in a sentence and at later section learn some punctuation rules to correctly punctuate interjections.
What are Interjections?
The interjection is one of the eight parts of speech which is not generally required to get a clear meaning of sentence hence it is more commonly used in informal language than in formal writing or speech and is majorly used to add an exclamation to a sentence.
The sole function of interjection words or phrase is to express emotions, an abrupt remark or sudden bursts of feelings. Let us see one example here :
Example without Interjection : You look amazing !.
Example with Interjection : Wow, You look amazing !.
In the second example we have added ‘Wow’ as an interjection to shows a sense of strong feeling.
Examples of Interjections in Sentences
Following are examples of interjections used in sentences:
- Aha! So you took the money!
- Aww, what an adorable puppy
- Aww, don’t be like that!
- Boo, get off the stage!
- I just deleted all my files. D’oh!
- A seven layer wedding cake? Ooh-la-la!
- Ewww, this apple is rotten
- Eeek, a mouse!
- So she dumped you, eh?
- Grrr, I’ll kick his ass
- Hurrah, we won!
- I switched the sugar and the salt! Muahaha!
- Oh, you wanted sugar, not milk.
- A seven layer wedding cake? Ooh-la-la!
- Ouch, I hit my thumb
- Oy! You forgot your wallet!
- Psst. Let’s skip the next class!
- Get out of here! Shoo!
- Shh, I’m trying to hear what they’re saying!
- I don’t want you to go! Waaah!
- Weee! Faster!
- Wow, that’s incredible!
- Yuck, I wouldn’t want to touch that
- I found out I owed $5000 in back taxes. Yikes!
4 Rules of Using Interjections
Some rules for correctly using the interjections:
- Interjections come in different forms a single word ( have a look at example 8) or a short phrase (look at example 5).
- Interjections are usually placed at the very start of a sentence (refer. example 9) but exceptions are always there ( refer example 5) .
- These interjections can be used to represent exclamations of character dialogues and can act as a replacement for emoticons and can make story reading very interesting.
- The other importance of interjections lies in the fact that they can convey the feelings that may sometimes to difficult to express via sentence.
Let us Take an example, the sentence “I like that dog.” This sentence looks complete and conveys it’s full meaning, but misses that extra sense of excitement attached to it.
Example with Interjection : Wow!, I like that dress.
The use of ‘Wow’ is to show a strong feeling of excitement.
3 Ways to Correctly Punctuate Interjections
Since there are different types of interjections to convey various kinds of emotions, there are also different ways to punctuate them.
1. Using Exclamation Mark
The exclamation point is the most commonly used punctuation mark for interjections. Obviously, it is used to communicate strong emotions such as surprise, excitement, or anger.
Examples:
- Yahoo! I got my money back!
- Eek! There’s a eating snakes!
- Oy! You dropped your mobile!
- Aha! So it was you!
- I just cut my finger. D’oh!
- A blue horse? Ooh-la-la!
2. Punctuating with Period or comma
For weaker emotions, a period or a comma will suffice.
Examples:
- Ah, that feels great!
- Oh well, what’s done is done.
- Well, what did she say?
- Um… Do you really think so ?.
- Aww, what a cute puppy
- Boo, get off the stage!
3. Punctuating with Question mark
If you intend to use interjections to express uncertainty or disbelief, it is more appropriate to use a question mark.
Examples:
- Huh? What did you just say?
- What? You did it wrong ?
- Oh, really? I never thought about it.
- What? Are you crazy ?
Learn more with this big list of interjections and practice them in your daily writing and speaking to get used to them.