CHAPTER IX

INTERJECTIONS

+372.+ +An interjection is a cry or other exclamatory sound expressing surprise, anger, pleasure, or some other emotion or feeling.+

EXAMPLES: O (_or_ oh), ah, hullo (holloa, halloo), bah, pshaw, fie, whew, tut-tut, st (_often spelled_ hist), ha, aha, ha ha, ho, hey, hum, hem, heigh-ho (heigh-o), alas, bravo, lo.

When written, interjections are often followed by an exclamation point (!).

+373.+ Among interjections are properly included calls to animals (like “whoa!”) and imitations of sounds such as “mew!” “cock-a-doodle-do!” “ding dong!” “swish!” “tu-whit-tu-who!”

+374.+ +Interjections usually have no grammatical connection with the phrases or sentences in which they stand.+

Hence they are counted among the “independent elements” of a sentence (§ 501).

Sometimes, however, a substantive is connected with an interjection by means of a preposition. Thus,--

_O for_ a camera!

_Alas for_ my hopes!

Adjectives and adverbs are also found in this use: as,--“Good for you!” “Up with it!”

NOTE. All such expressions are often regarded as elliptical sentences, as if “O for a camera!” stood for “O, I wish for a camera!” and “Good for you!” for “That is good for you!” But it is better to treat them as +exclamatory phrases+.[42] Other exclamatory phrases are “Dear me!” “Goodness gracious!” “O my!” and the like.

+375.+ Almost any part of speech may be used as an exclamation.

_Nonsense!_ I do not believe it. Fire! Halt! _Good!_ I like that! Forward! On! Away! _Back_, villains! _I!_ not a bit of it! But----!

Such words are often called interjections, but it is better to describe them as nouns, adjectives, etc., used in exclamation, and to confine the term +interjection+ to words which belong to no other part of speech.

NOTE. Thus _nonsense!_ and _fire!_ are nouns in the exclamatory nominative; _I!_ is a pronoun in the same construction; _halt!_ is a verb in the imperative (compare _hark!_ _hush!_ _behold!_ _look!_); _good!_ is an adjective; _forward!_ _on!_ _away!_ and _back!_ are adverbs; _but!_ is a conjunction.

The following examples illustrate various +exclamatory expressions+,--words, phrases, and sentences:--

1. How late I shuddered on the brink!--YOUNG.

2. “Right! right!” a thousand tongues exclaimed.--SOUTHEY.

3. The pale stars are gone!--SHELLEY.

4. Poor widowed wretch! ’twas there she wept in vain.--CAMPBELL.

5. O heartfelt raptures! Bliss beyond compare!--BURNS.

6. ’Tis done! dread Winter spreads his latest glooms.--THOMSON.

7. Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly.--SHAKSPERE.

8. I had--ah! have I now?--a friend.--BYRON.

9. “To arms!” cried Mortimer, and couched his quivering lance.--GRAY.

10. O for the gentleness of old Romance!--KEATS.

11. “Run!” exclaims she, with a toss of indignant astonishment.--CARLYLE.

12. Can he keep himself still if he would! Oh, not he!--WORDSWORTH.