Note that a number of our verbs and nouns have been formed from imitating the sound which these nouns or verbs describe or express, as for instance, crash, roar, buzz, hush, groan, bang, puff, etc.

Exercise 1

Mark the interjections in the following sentences. Which express surprise? Which joy? Which sorrow? Which disgust?

  1. Alas! We shall never meet again.
  2. Bravo! You have done well.
  3. Pshaw! Is that the best you can do?
  4. Ship ahoy! All hands on deck.
  5. Hello! When did you come?
  6. Hurrah! We have won the victory.
  7. Alas, alack! Those days will never come again.
  8. Hist! You must be as still as mice.

Exercise 2

Write sentences using an interjection to express: 1. Joy. 2. Surprise. 3. Pain. 4. Sorrow. 5. Disgust. 6. To ask a question. 7. To call attention. 8. To silence. 9. To direct. 10. To imitate the sound made by an animal. 11. By a machine.

EXCLAMATORY WORDS

390. Interjections express only emotion or feeling. They do not express ideas. However, we have a number of words which are used somewhat as interjections are used, which we may class as exclamatory words, but they express more than interjections, for they express ideas as well as emotions; but, like interjections, they are used independently and have no part in the construction of the sentence.

391. Many ordinary words and phrases are used in this way as exclamations. When they are so used they have no place in the construction of the sentence; that is, they do not depend upon the sentence in which they are used, in any way. A noun used in this way is not used as the subject or the object, but simply as an exclamation.

For example; the noun nonsense may be used as an interjection, as in the sentence; Nonsense! I do not believe a word of it. In this sentence, nonsense is a noun used as an interjection and plays no part in the sentence, either as subject or object, but is an independent construction. There are a number of words used in this way: