What Are Interjections?

Interjections are words like wow and yay. They’re sounds we make – to convey extreme emotion or to create emphasis – when we’re talking, sometimes when we can’t think of a good way to express ourselves. The problem with interjections is that, because they’re technically meaningless, they require a great deal of context to be understood. For instance, hey can mean hello, or that’s great, or stop doing that.

Hey! How are you?

Hey! That’s an awesome hat!

Hey! Cut that out!

Interjections are frequently followed by an exclamation mark.

Interjections (and exclamation marks) are generally frowned upon in formal writing.

Interjections are not grammatically connected to any part of the sentence (i.e. they don’t modify a verb or a noun, etc.) They can be removed without creating confusion.