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Glossary: interjection

Explanation

A minor word class consisting of such words as oh, ah, ouch and yuck, which express reactions, emotions and so on. They can occur alone; they can also occur within longer utterances, but do not form grammatical relationships with other words.

Word classes: Interjections

Interjections are a group of words which are commonly used in spoken language to express emotions, reactions and so on. It is generally difficult to categorise them into one of the eight major word classes.

Examples include the following:

  • oh, wow, aha, ouch, tut-tut, ugh, oops, humph, hooray, yuck, whew, yikes, eek

Interjections can occur on their own, or in sequence (e.g. oh wow), and can also be attached to a sentence. These examples are all from informal conversations:

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