An interjection also called an exclamation, is a word, phrase, or sound used to express an emotion such as surprise, excitement, happiness, or anger. Put another way, an interjection is a short utterance that generally expresses emotion and can stand alone.

Though interjections are one of the conventional parts of speech, they are unrelated to any other component of a sentence. Interjections are common in spoken English, but they also exist in written English. English’s most commonly used interjections include hey, oops, ouch, gee, oh, ah, ooh, eh, ugh, aw, yo, wow, brr, sh, and yippee. In writing, an interjection is followed by an exclamation point, but it can also be followed by a comma if it is a portion of a sentence. Knowing the various kinds of interjections and how to punctuate them will help you use them correctly.