Interjections as Part of Speech

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If you are preparing for Banking or SSC, it is very important that you are familiar with the basics of English Language. Various Government Recruitment Exams like IBPS PO, SSC CGL, RBI Assistant, IBPS Clerk, etc. test your knowledge of English by asking questions in either their Prelims/Tier I or Mains/Tier II. You need to have good grammar & vocabulary to ace this section with ease. Hence, you need to know the basics of Engish Language & the Eight Parts of Speech is considered as the foundation. Read this article to know all about Interjections as Part of Speech & boost up your preparation for exams like SSC CGL descriptive paper, SSC CHSL, etc.

Before moving ahead with Interjections, let’s have a look at what are parts of speech in brief:

Parts of Speech Parts of speech are the basic categories of words according to their function in a sentence. It is a category to which a word is assigned in accordance with its syntactic functions. English has eight main parts of speech, namely, Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions & Interjections. In grammar, the parts of speech, also called lexical categories, grammatical categories or word classes is a linguistic category of words.

Interjections as Part of Speech

It is a word used to express emotions or some sudden outburst of feeling. Usually, an interjection is used in informal language. Though interjections do not relate grammatically to the other parts of the sentence or help the reader understand the relationship between words and phrases in the sentence, they express a wide variety of feelings, such as joy, sorrow, surprise, disgust, etc.

Interjections exist in the form of a single word, a phrase, or even a short clause. Moreover, they are usually, though not always, placed at the beginning of a sentence. They are important as they convey emotions which may otherwise be overlooked in a sentence. Take for example the following:

This movie has quite a few morbid scenes.
Ugh! This movie has quite a few morbid scenes!

Undoubtedly, the second sentence adds an emotion to the given sentence.

The Emotions Expressed by Interjections as Part of Speech

• Joy: Hurrah! Ha-ha!
• Sorrow: Alas! Ah! Oh!
• Surprise: Oh! What! Ha!
• Appreciation: Bravo! Hear-hear!
• Contempt: Fie! Pooh!
• Calling: Hello! Ho!
• Drawing attention: Look! Listen! Behold!
• Making or becoming silent: Hush!
• Consoling someone: There here!

Examples of Interjections as Part of Speech:

• Hooray! You lost, I won.
• Alas! My neighbour’s pet is dead.
• Congratulations! You procured the first rank.
• Hello! Can you hear me?
• Hush! Keep quiet! The baby is sleeping.
• Oh no, I can’t believe I woke up late again!
• Um… I think your answer is incorrect.

A noun or noun phrase, an adjective or a short independent clause can be used as an interjection in a sentence. Also, there are certain sounds which are used as interjections.

1. Noun or noun phrases that are used as Interjection:

Congratulations! You won the match.
Goodbye, see you later.
Hello! How have you been?

2. Adjectives that are used as Interjection:

Nice! You achieved your target!
Good! Now we are ready to proceed to the next level!
Fabulous! Our team is the winner!

3. Short Independent Clause can be used as an interjection:

We will have to spend the night in the forest. Oh, the horror!
The baby puked in its food. How awful!

4. Sounds that are used as interjections: Ugh!, Phew!, Uh- oh!, Eww!, etc.

Punctuating Interjections as Part of Speech:

• An exclamation mark (!) is used to convey strong emotions such as surprise, excitement, or anger.

Examples: 
Ouch! Something pricked me!
Yuck! How awful does it taste!
Hooray! We rock as a team!
Wow! Your performance was impeccable.

• A period (…) or comma (,) is used for weak emotions.

Examples:Well, what is your opinion on the matter?
Ah, this is a cozy bed.
Um… Are you sure?
Yes, I would like to join you to the party.

• Question mark (?) to express uncertainty and disbelief.

Examples:Oh, really? Is that what you are trying to say?
Are you kidding me? This report ought to be false!
What? He resigned!

Interjections perform its task by interjecting or interrupting the flow of language, which becomes quite important when there is need to express feelings. Interjections as part of speech are significant as they weave emotions into written language. This helps in conveying the desired meaning of a sentence to the reader.