Warning: This Content is HIGHLY COPYRIGHT MATERIAL and part of the book Syntax by Abirlal Mukhopadhyay, and must not be reproduced.
It is a diverse category, encompassing a number of parts of speech, such as exclamations (ouch!, wow!), curses (damn!), greetings (hey, bye), response particles (Okay! Oh! M-hm! huh?), hesitation markers (Uh! Er! Um!) and other words (Stop! Cool!). Interjections are bound by context, meaning that their interpretation is largely dependent on the time and place at which they are uttered. In linguistics, interjections can also be considered a form of deixis. Due to its diverse nature, the category of interjections partly overlaps with a few other categories like profanities, discourse markers and fillers. The application and linguistic discussion of interjections can be traced historically through the Greek and Latin Modistae over centuries. Primary interjections are interjections first and foremost (examples: Oops., Ouch!, Huh?), while secondary interjections are words from other categories that come to be used as interjections in virtue of their meaning (examples: Damn!, Hell!).
Primary interjections are considered to be single words (Oh!, Wow!).
Secondary interjections can consist of multi-word phrases, or interjectional phrases, (examples: sup! from What’s up?, Excuse me!, Oh dear!, Thank God!), but can also include single-word alarm words (Help!), swear and taboo words (Heavens!), and other words used to show emotion (Drats!)
Commonly used interjection: Ahh! Alas! Alright! Blah! Dang! Gee! Nah! Oops! Phew! Shucks! Woops! Yikes! Hey! Ouch! Wow! Ah! Bravo! Hurrah! Shh! Damn!
Exercises
1. Identify the interjection in the following sentences.
a. Goodness! She listened to the thief’s story and reported it to the police immediately.
b. Oh, I haven’t seen my brother since he left for the US!
c. Oops! I dropped the mug.
d. No! Don’t touch that!
e. Help! I’m about to fall!
f. The poor deer was, Alas! destitute and hungry.
g. Wait! Don’t leave me behind in the forest!
h. Ah! I’ve heard that story before.
2. Choose the right interjection.
(i) ___________! who cries outside? (Hark/Hallo)
(ii) ___________ ! I have lost my purse. (Alas/Ha/Ha!)
(iii) ___________ ! I have defeated all my rivals. (Hurrah/Ha)
(iv) ___________ ! Are you not in your senses? (Ob/Hallo)
(v) ___________ ! The victory is yours. (Bravo/Hurrah)
3. Complete these sentences with suitable interjections.
(i) __________ We have won the match.
(ii) __________ Where are you going now?
(iii) __________ What a beautiful color?
(iv) __________ I hear someone coming.
(v) _________ What a wicked lie.
4. Underline the Interjections.
(i) Hey! You forgot my gift.
(ii) Ouch! That water is hot.
(iii) Oops! The glass broke.
(iv) Well, I guess I’ll go.
(v) Hurray! We won the match.
(vi) Wow! John hit the ball far.
(vii) Hurray! I saw something scary in the movie.
(viii) Alas! I cannot go with you.
(ix) Shh! I heard someone crying.
(x) Ah, I see what you mean.
5. Choose the correct option to fill in the blanks.
(i) ___________ ! I found a twenty dollar bill.
(a) Hey
(b) Ohno
(ii) ___________ ! That girl is really honest.
(a) Yeah (b) Welcome
(iii) ___________ ! You’re really moving to another country?
(a) Good bye
(b) What
(iv) ___________ ! He is not coming to work again?
(a) Welcome
(b) Wh
(v) ___________ ! Please sit anywhere.
(a) Welcome
(b) Oh no
(vi) ___________ ! No talking in the library!
(a) Quiet
(b) What
(vii) ___________ ! You are disrupting the class!
(a) Sit down
(b) What
(viii) ___________ ! This food was really expensive.
(a) Eat
(b) Good-bye
(ix) ___________ ! It was your idea to meet today.
(a) Good-bye
(b) Talk
(x) ___________! I am not going to the party tonight.
(a) Welcome
(b) No way
