An interjection is a word or short phrase that expresses a sudden feeling or reaction. It stands outside the grammar of the sentence — it adds no subject, no verb, and nothing connects it structurally to what follows.
Each of these words carries a feeling — surprise, pain, relief, hesitation — without contributing to the grammar. Remove it and the sentence still works: That view is incredible. The interjection is there for emotion, not meaning.
Interjections by feeling
Most interjections cluster around a handful of everyday reactions. Below are the common ones grouped by what they express.
| FEELING | COMMON INTERJECTIONS |
|---|---|
| Surprise | wow, oh, whoa, gosh, goodness |
| Pain | ouch, ow, argh |
| Relief | phew, whew |
| Disgust | yuck, ew, ugh |
| Excitement | yay, hooray, yippee, awesome |
| Disappointment | aww, oh no, tsk |
| Agreement | yes, yeah, uh-huh, indeed |
| Hesitation | um, uh, er, huh |
| Greeting | hi, hello, hey, bye |
A few of these in context:
Some words on this list — awesome, indeed, goodness — also work as regular adjectives or adverbs. They count as interjections only when they stand alone as a reaction, not when they describe something inside a sentence.
Standing alone
An interjection can be a complete utterance on its own. Unlike most English sentences, it needs no subject and no verb.
A single word is enough because the context supplies the rest.
Punctuation
How to punctuate an interjection depends on the intensity of the feeling and where the interjection sits in the sentence.
Strong feeling — use an exclamation mark.
Mild feeling at the start of a sentence — use a comma.
Inside the sentence — set it off with commas or parentheses.
The one thing an interjection should never be is dropped in without any punctuation around it. Gee I hadn't thought of that looks wrong — it should be Gee, I hadn't thought of that.
Register
Interjections belong to informal English. They are natural in speech, messaging, personal writing, and fiction dialogue. They do not belong in formal academic essays, business reports, legal documents, or official correspondence — there they look careless or unprofessional.
Mild expletives like damn, darn, gosh, heck are informal even by interjection standards and should be avoided in any formal context entirely. A job application email is not the place for Gosh, what a great opportunity.
A few interjections — indeed, well — are gentle enough to appear in polite or semi-formal conversation. The rest are best kept for contexts where a casual tone is appropriate.
Common mistakes
Missing comma after a mild interjection
Exclamation mark on a mild reaction
No punctuation around an interjection inside a sentence
Interjections in formal writing
Spelling slips