1. DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS
Assignment
On
“Interjections”
Presented to: Muhammad Irfan Lodhi
(Faculty Member), Linguistics Department
ISlamia University Bahawalpur.
Submitted by: Muhammad Sajid us Salam.
Class: M. Phil. (Linguistics)
Roll No. 16
Session: 2008-10.
Department of Linguistics
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur

2. INTERJECTIONS
Oh! Ah! Ooh! Alas!
Help! Ow! Eh! Sh!
Pooh! Whew!Tut-tut! Look out!
Cheers! Nine one! Golly! Gosh!
Hem! Oh dear! Look here! Bless my soul!
Definitions:-
1. An interjection is a word or group of words that expresses strong feelings.
2. “Interjections are expressions of exclamation that show emotion.”
3. Interjections are words or phrases used to exclaim or protest or command.
Explanation:-
The words themselves often do not have any other meaning. An interjection is
often followed by an exclamation point, but not always.
There are many kinds of interjections. Many interjections such as “hey!” or
“cool!” are well known. Sometimes writers invent them according to the emotions they wish to
express. They sometimes stand by themselves, but they are often contained within larger
structures.
Some Common Interjections are given below:-
Aha great, oh phew, awesome, ha oh, no well, come on, hey, oops, wow, gee, hooray, ouch,
yes
See examples of interjections below in boldface according to their usage.
Ouch! That really hurt!
Hey, that wasn’t nice.
Dang! I meant to change that light bulb.
Wow! What a great idea!
Yikes! I’m scared of heights!
Usage

3. An interjection that expresses a very strong feeling may stand alone, either
before or after a sentence. Such interjections are followed by an exclamation mark.
Example: Oh, no! I wrote horse instead of hoarse.
When an interjection expresses a milder feeling, it appears as part of the
sentence. In that case it is separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma.
Example: Oh, I thought I knew the definition of that word.
Wow! I won the lottery!
Oh, I don't know about that.
I don't know what the heck you're talking about.
No, you shouldn't have done that.
Most mild interjections are treated as parenthetical elements and set off from
the rest of the sentence with a comma or set of commas. If the interjection is more forceful,
however, it is followed with an exclamation mark. Interjections are rarely used in formal or
academic writing.
Interjection is a big name for a little word.
Note:-Interjections like er and um are also known as quot;hesitation devicesquot;. They are extremely
common in English. People use them when they don't know what to say, or to indicate that they
are thinking about what to say. You should learn to recognize them when you hear them and
realize that they have no real meaning.
Exclamations like Oh!, Um or Ah! They have no real grammatical value but
we use them quite often, usually more in speaking than in writing. When interjections are
inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical connection to the sentence. An interjection
is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!) when written.
The table below shows some interjections with examples.
interjection Meaning Example

4. expressing pleasure quot;Ah, that feels good.quot;
expressing realization quot;Ah, now I understand.quot;
Ah
expressing resignation quot;Ah well, it can't be heped.quot;
expressing surprise quot;Ah! I've won!quot;
Alas expressing grief or pity quot;Alas, she's dead now.quot;
expressing pity quot;Oh dear! Does it hurt?quot;
dear
expressing surprise quot;Dear me! That's a surprise!quot;
quot;It's hot today.quot; quot;Eh?quot; quot;I said it's hot
asking for repetition
today.quot;
Eh expressing enquiry quot;What do you think of that, eh?quot;
expressing surprise quot;Eh! Really?quot;
inviting agreement quot;Let's go, eh?quot;
Er expressing hesitation quot;Lima is the capital of...er...Peru.quot;
expressing greeting quot;Hello John. How are you today?quot;
hello, hullo
expressing surprise quot;Hello! My car's gone!quot;
calling attention quot;Hey! look at that!quot;
Hey
expressing surprise, joy etc quot;Hey! What a good idea!quot;
Hi expressing greeting quot;Hi! What's new?quot;
expressing hesitation, doubt or
hmm quot;Hmm. I'm not so sure.quot;
disagreement
expressing surprise quot;Oh! You're here!quot;
oh, o expressing pain quot;Oh! I've got a toothache.quot;
expressing pleading quot;Oh, please say 'yes'!quot;
ouch expressing pain quot;Ouch! That hurts!quot;
Uh expressing hesitation quot;Uh...I don't know the answer to that.quot;
uh-huh expressing agreement quot;Shall we go?quot; quot;Uh-huh.quot;
um, umm expressing hesitation quot;85 divided by 5 is...um...17.quot;
expressing surprise quot;Well I never!quot;
well
introducing a remark quot;Well, what did he say?quot;

5. Interjections # 01
Fill in the Blank with most appropria interjection.
te
1. An interjection is ______________.
a. an exclamation which shows thoughts or feelings
b. a meaningless string of sounds
c. the same as an adjective
2. Which of the following interjections is NOT an expression of surprise or wonder?
a. Gee!
b. Gosh!
c. Boo!
3. You are vegetarian and you are offered a dish of raw meat. What do you think?
a. Ugh!
b. Hurrah!
c. Yippee!
4. Somebody has just stepped on your toe. Which interjection would best fit the situation?
a. Yoo-hoo!
b. Ouch!
c. Eh!
5. You are most likely to hear or use the interjection boo ___________.
a. at a theatrical performance
b. while listening to a political speech
c. on both of the above mentioned occasions
6. __________, Mary! Come here! I want to talk to you.
a. Oops
b. Mmm
c. Hey
7. 'Ta' is synonymous of ____________.
a. take it easy
b. thank you
c. tra-la-la

6. 8. The interjections 'blimey' and 'crickey' imply ___________.
a. joy
b. surprise or wonder
c. irritation
9. Your children are making a lot of noise and you want to hear the news on the radio.
How do you urge silence?
a. Shh!
b. Tut-tut.
c. Ow!
10. Which of the following interjections is NOT used when cheeringfor a team?
a. Rah!
b. Yay!
c. Yikes!
11. ______________! The spinach soup is out of this world!
a. Mmm
b. Yuk
c. Uh
12. A: I scored 660 points at the TOEFL test!
B: __________! That's amazing!
a. Wow
b. Aha
c. Woe
13. Which is the odd man out? (Which word fits in a different group?)
a. hey
b. yoo-hoo
c. oops
14. Paraphrase the interjection used in the following dialogue.
o A: I've forgotten to tell John about the party.
o B: Eh?
a. What did you say?
b. Really?
c. How come?
15. The interjection 'Woe!' is a synonym of ___________.
a. Alas!

7. b. Bother!
c. Really!

8. Interjections Practice # 2
Complete the sentences below by placing an interjection in each blank. Remember to use
sign too.
1. Jenna shrieked, “___________!” when she saw Nick’s spider collection.
2. __________! I hate when I mess up on a project when I am almost done.
3. __________, you really should sing this song for the whole class.
4. “__________, you make me so mad,” Kyle said. “Why won’t you help with the
dishes?”
5. Isn’t this exciting? __________, I can’t wait to go on this trip!
6. _____________________ How come you are here ?
7. _____________________ The lady is no more.
8. _____________________ Everybody is sleeping.
9. _____________________ I am so scared.
10. _____________________ I stood first.

9. Interjections • Practice # 3
In each blank, write an appropriate interjection for the feeling shown in parentheses.
EXAMPLE: (Pain)! That really hurts. Ouch
1. (Surprise), I didn’t expect to see you here.
2. (Impatience), I wish you’d hurry up.
3. (Hesitation), I don’t know the answer.
4. (Joy)! What a great present.
5. (Pain)! I cut my finger.
6. (Surprise)! We won the game.
7. (Hesitation), I don’t know which way to go.
8. (Joy), that was a terrific movie.
9. (Pain), I bumped my head.
10. (Disappointment), we’re late again.
Interjections • Practice # 4
Adding Interjections to Sentences. Fill in each blank with an appropriate interjection. Use
commas or exclamation marks as punctuation.
EXAMPLE: Wow! We had a fabulous trip.
1. I can’t figure out, where we are.
2. I just banged my knee.
3. I didn’t think the paper was due today.
4. I can’t wait all day.
5. The picnic has been rained out again.
6. That’s the biggest balloon I’ve ever seen.
7. I’m so happy you’re here for a visit.
8. That was a close call.
9. There isn’t enough snow to go skiing.
10. You must be kidding.