I'm Izzy, and I express emotion. Mild or strong, I'm the feeling that runs through every scene.
Parts of Speech · Today with Izzy
It's How You Feel
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Section 1 · Meet the Interjection
Sections 2–4
Meet the Interjection!
An interjection is a word that expresses emotion and stands apart from the rest of the sentence, doing no job inside it. A mild feeling is set off with a comma, and a strong feeling is set off with an exclamation mark. The interjection brings the feeling; the punctuation officers bring the marks.
One interjection shows excitement, one shows discovery, and one shows surprise.
Wow, that is a really big bird.
Eureka! Now I understand.
Gee, you really seem friendly.
Identifying Interjections
To find the interjection, look for the word that bursts in with pure feeling. It does not name a person, a place, or a thing the way a noun does, and it does not show an action the way a verb does. It stands apart and simply feels.
In a sentence
One interjection sets up a mild question, and one bursts out with a strong feeling.
Um, do you have any crayons I could borrow?
No! Those are my crayons!
Now you try
An interjection jumps right in with a feeling. You could try Wow, Oh, or Gee. Any feeling you have works.
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Mild or Strong?
Every interjection carries a feeling, and the one call to make is whether that feeling is mild or strong. A mild feeling is set off with a comma, and a strong feeling is set off with an exclamation mark.
In a sentence
One feeling is mild, set apart with a comma; one is strong, set apart with an exclamation mark.
Wow, those potato chips sure are expensive.
Yay! I just won the lottery!
Library
Now you try
A mild interjection is a gentle little feeling, set off with a comma. You could try Hmmm, Well, or Um. A soft one is perfect here.
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Same Word, Different Feeling
The same interjection can carry two different feelings, because the feeling lives in how it is said. Oh can be a calm hello or a burst of surprise, so the same word can be mild in one moment and strong in the next.
In a sentence
The same word, oh, is gentle in the first and a burst of surprise in the second.
Oh, that is interesting.
Oh! You scared me!
Now you try
An interjection can show surprise the moment it hits. You could try Whoa, Wow, or Yikes. Whatever you feel works.
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That's the whole feeling, mild and strong and every shade between. The Big Interjection Quiz is eight questions away, and I just know you've got the feeling.
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