An interjection is a word or short phrase that shows feeling: wow, oh, oops, hooray, ouch, well, hmm. It isn’t tied into the grammar of the sentence; it stands apart. It is the last of the eight parts of speech (Conjunctions came just before).
- A strong interjection can stand alone with an exclamation point. The next sentence starts with a capital: “Ouch! That pan is hot.”
- An interjection can also be set off with a comma inside the sentence: “Ouch, that pan is hot!”
- A mild interjection takes a comma: “Well, maybe tomorrow.” “Oh, I see.”
Key idea
An interjection shows feeling and is set off from the sentence: with a comma when it is mild or part of the sentence, with an exclamation point when it stands alone.
Why it works
In speech, your voice shows feeling. On paper, interjections and their punctuation do that job. The marks also tell the reader that the word isn’t the subject or any other part of the sentence.
Worked example: Two correct ways
Punctuate: “hooray we won”
- Hooray shows strong feeling.
- It can stand alone: “Hooray! We won!”
- Or it can join the sentence with a comma: “Hooray, we won!”
Answer: Either “Hooray! We won!” or “Hooray, we won!”
Common mistake
Thinking every interjection needs an exclamation point. “Oh! I see.” makes a quiet thought sound like a shout. A mild interjection takes a comma: “Oh, I see.”