Interjections Examples: 100 Numbered Sentences by Emotion (A2)

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By El Arby Ameur · Grammar Instructor, lesson.tn

Published May 15, 2026 · Updated Nov 4, 2026

Interjections Examples: 100 Numbered Sentences by Emotion

⚡ TL;DR — What This Page Contains

• 100 numbered example sentences — 15 each for 5 emotion categories, plus 10 for agreement/understanding. Each is a standalone example at A2 level. (Swan 2016, §369–370)
• 5 emotion categories + 1 discourse category — joy, surprise, pain, sadness, disgust, and (as a distinct sixth) agreement & understanding. (Quirk et al. 1985, §11.5; Ameka 1992, §3)
• Every example is unique — none repeats across the collection (Page 3 has 32 different exercises; Page 5 has 15 different speaking cards; Page 6 has 25 different test questions). (Bachman & Palmer 1996, ch. 1)
• Numbered 1–100 — every example is numbered, so teachers can reference them ("do example #47") in class or on assignments.
• All examples use the punctuation conventions from Page 4 — exclamation marks for strong emotion, commas for mild. (Swan 2016, §370)

This page is the canonical home of the 100 interjection examples in the collection. The examples are organized into 6 categories and numbered 1–100 so they can be referenced individually. Each category has a short answer capsule explaining the pattern, followed by 15 examples. The page ends with a real dialogue using 8 interjections, a 5-question mini-quiz, and 5 FAQs. For a shorter summary or to see the taxonomy, go back to the Complete Guide.

📑 On This Page

• Joy & Celebration (1–15)
• Surprise & Amazement (16–30)
• Pain & Discomfort (31–45)
• Sadness & Regret (46–60)
• Calling Attention (61–75)
• Disgust & Dislike (76–90)
• Agreement & Understanding (91–100)
• Dialogue: Opening a Birthday Gift
• Mini-quiz: 5 situations
• Frequently asked questions
• Sources

Figure 1. Distribution of the 100 examples across 6 categories. Five emotion categories receive 15 examples each (equal coverage); the sixth category — agreement & understanding — receives 10, because it's a discourse-marker category rather than a pure emotion category (per Ameka 1992, §3). The 15/15/15/15/15/15/10 split is a deliberate pedagogical choice: it gives each emotion category enough examples for pattern recognition without over-loading the discourse category.

Joy & Celebration (examples 1–15)

Joy interjections express happiness, celebration, or delight: Hooray!, Yay!, Yes!, Great!, Awesome!, Fantastic!. They typically take an exclamation mark because the emotion is strong. All 15 examples below come from situations that would make a real person happy — birthdays, achievements, good news, celebrations — so learners can match the interjection to the emotion. (Swan 2016, §369; Quirk et al. 1985, §11.5)

1. Hooray! It's my birthday!
2. Yay! We're going to the beach!
3. Woo-hoo! I passed the exam!
4. Yes! I got the job!
5. Great! That's wonderful news!
6. Awesome! You did it!
7. Fantastic! What a great idea!
8. Congratulations! You deserve it!
9. Bravo! Excellent performance!
10. Woohoo! Let's celebrate!
11. Wonderful! What a happy day!
12. Super! That's perfect!
13. Terrific! I'm so happy for you!
14. Amazing! I can't believe it!
15. Wahoo! We're free!

Try also: Yahoo!, Hip hip hooray!, Brilliant!, Excellent!, Joy!

Surprise & Amazement (examples 16–30)

Surprise interjections express amazement, disbelief, or shock: Wow!, Oh!, Really?, What!, My goodness!, Good heavens!. These are the most-used interjections in English conversation — corpus data shows surprise is the most frequent emotion expressed by interjections in speech. The examples below cover the range from mild surprise (Oh!) to strong shock (What! That's impossible!). (Biber et al. 1999, ch. 14; Swan 2016, §369)

16. Wow! That's incredible!
17. Oh! I didn't expect that!
18. Really? Are you serious?
19. What! That's impossible!
20. My goodness! That's huge!
21. Good heavens! What happened?
22. Gosh! That's surprising!
23. Whoa! Slow down!
24. Oh my God! Is that true?
25. No way! You're joking!
26. Seriously? I can't believe it!
27. Unbelievable! That's amazing!
28. Wowza! Look at that!
29. Holy cow! That's expensive!
30. Incredible! How did you do that?

Try also: Whoa!, No kidding!, Are you for real?, You're kidding!, Blimey! (BrE), Crikey! (BrE)

Pain & Discomfort (examples 31–45)

Pain interjections express sudden physical discomfort or frustration: Ouch!, Ow!, Yikes!, Ugh!, Argh!. They're almost always followed by an exclamation mark — the emotion is rarely mild enough for a comma. The examples below include physical pain (Ouch!), surprise-pain combinations (Yikes!), and frustration (Argh!, Grr!) — three sub-emotions that share the same interjection family. (Quirk et al. 1985, §11.5; Swan 2016, §369)

31. Ouch! That hurts!
32. Ow! I hit my head!
33. Ah! That's cold!
34. Yow! That was hot!
35. Ouchie! I scraped my knee!
36. Owie! I cut my finger!
37. Yowch! I touched something sharp!
38. Oof! That was a hard fall!
39. Argh! This is so frustrating!
40. Grr! I'm so angry!
41. Ugh! I feel sick!
42. Yikes! That was close!
43. Eek! A spider!
44. Aagh! I can't open this jar!
45. Whew! That was a relief!

Try also: Yowza!, Oy!, Agh!, Ouch!

Sadness & Regret (examples 46–60)

Sadness interjections express regret, disappointment, or sorrow: Alas!, Oh no!, Woe is me!, Sigh, Boo hoo!. They range from formal-literary (Alas) to informal-childish (Boo hoo). Note that Alas is unusual — it's one of the few interjections that appears in formal writing (Biber 1999 records it in literary fiction and formal correspondence). The examples below include the full range from mild disappointment to genuine grief. (Swan 2016, §369; Biber et al. 1999, ch. 14)

46. Alas! We lost the game.
47. Oh no! I missed the bus.
48. Woe is me! I'm so sad!
49. Sigh... I guess we'll never know.
50. Boo hoo! That's so sad!
51. Sob! I can't believe it!
52. What a pity! That's unfortunate.
53. Too bad! Maybe next time.
54. Oh dear! I've made a mistake.
55. Dear me! I'm so sorry.
56. How sad! That's terrible news.
57. Unlucky! Better luck next time.
58. Oh well! It can't be helped.
59. If only! I should have listened.
60. That's a shame! I really wanted to go.

Try also: Pity!, Poor you!, That's too bad!, What a shame!

Calling Attention (examples 61–75)

Attention interjections get someone's focus: Hey!, Yo!, Psst!, Look!, Listen!. They're the most social of the interjection categories — they exist entirely to manage attention, not to express the speaker's own emotion. Biber et al. (1999, ch. 14) note these are especially frequent at the start of conversational turns. The examples below cover polite attention (Excuse me), urgent attention (Look!), and casual attention (Yo, Psst). (Biber et al. 1999, ch. 14; Quirk et al. 1985, §11.5)

61. Hey! Look over here!
62. Yo! Wait up!
63. Psst! Come closer.
64. Hello! Is anyone there?
65. Look! A shooting star!
66. Listen! I have something to say.
67. Attention, please! Everyone quiet!
68. Hey you! Yes, you!
69. Excuse me! Can I help you?
70. Hi there! How are you?
71. Oh! I have an idea!
72. Say! That's a good point.
73. Look here! This is important.
74. Listen up! Pay attention!
75. Hey now! Calm down.

Try also: Oi! (BrE), Yoo-hoo!, Over here!, Watch out!

Disgust & Dislike (examples 76–90)

Disgust interjections express revulsion or strong dislike: Yuck!, Ew!, Ugh!, Gross!, Nasty!. They're always followed by an exclamation mark — disgust is not a mild emotion. The examples below include the full range from mild distaste (Blech!) to strong revulsion (Disgusting!, Revolting!). Note that Ugh! appears in both the Pain category (as frustration) and here (as disgust) — a reminder that some interjections span categories. (Swan 2016, §369; Quirk et al. 1985, §11.5)

76. Yuck! This tastes horrible!
77. Ew! That's gross!
78. Ugh! I hate this!
79. Gross! Don't touch that!
80. Nasty! Get that away!
81. Pee-yew! What's that smell?
82. Blech! This is awful!
83. Ick! That's slimy!
84. Disgusting! I can't look!
85. Yuk! No thank you!
86. Eww! That's so gross!
87. Icky! Don't touch me with that!
88. Phooey! That's no good!
89. Yech! That's disgusting!
90. Revolting! I can't stand it!

Try also: Yucko!, Gross me out!, That's nasty!, Bleh!

Agreement & Understanding (examples 91–100)

Agreement interjections signal "I understand" or "I agree": Well, OK, Got it, I see, Right, Exactly, Sure. These are technically discourse markers, not pure emotion interjections — Ameka (1992, §3) notes that some interjection-family items manage social interaction (agreement, hesitation, topic shifts) rather than express emotion. We keep them on this page because they behave identically: standalone, punctuated, context-dependent. But we keep the category distinct (10 examples instead of 15) because it's a different function. (Ameka 1992, §3; Biber et al. 1999, §14.4)

91. Well, I guess we'll have to wait.
92. OK, I understand now.
93. Got it! I'll do it right away.
94. I see! That makes sense.
95. Right! Let's get started.
96. Exactly! That's what I meant.
97. Sure! I'd love to help.
98. Great! Let's go!
99. Perfect! That's exactly what I needed.
100. Done! I finished the task.

Try also: Indeed!, Absolutely!, Of course!, No problem!, Fair enough!

Dialogue: how do these examples combine in conversation?

This short dialogue shows 8 interjections from different categories used together in a natural conversation. Notice that strong emotions (Wow!, Hooray!, Oops!) take exclamation marks, while mild ones (Oh, Hey) take commas — the punctuation rule from the Examples page applied consistently. Each interjection is understandable from context alone, without labels. (Swan 2016, §370)

Maya: Oh! You got me something?
Ryan: Yes! Open it!
Maya: Wow! A camera! Hooray! Thank you!
Ryan: Haha! I saw the price — phew! It was on sale.
Maya: Alas, the bag is empty — where's the battery?
Ryan: Oops! I left it at the shop. Oh no!

Comprehension questions:

1. Which interjection shows Maya's surprise?
2. Which two show Ryan's relief?
3. Which shows Ryan's mistake?
4. Which shows Maya's disappointment?

Answers: (1) Wow! (2) Haha! and Phew! (3) Oops! (4) Alas

📹 Watch: The 100 Examples Read Aloud

Target: 8–10 minute audio walkthrough reading all 100 examples with natural intonation, grouped by emotion. Includes on-screen text for each example. Captions track (WCAG 2.1 AA).

Production notes: Audio-first format — even without watching, this works as a listening exercise. Upload to YouTube with title "100 Interjection Examples Read Aloud (A2 English)". Ideal for students practicing intonation alongside the text on this page.

Placeholder — insert iframe embed here after audio/video production

Mini-quiz: 5 situations (find 32 more on Page 3)

These 5 situations test the interjection-choice skill: match a situation to the most natural interjection. All 5 are unique — they don't appear on Page 3 (32 exercises), Page 5 (15 speaking cards), or Page 6 (25 test questions). This mini-quiz is a sample; the full exercise set is on Page 3. (Bachman & Palmer 1996, ch. 1)

React to each situation with an appropriate interjection

Type or say your reaction. Then click Show Answers for suggestions.

1. Your teacher announces a class trip. → ______!
2. You forget your phone at home. → ______!
3. You smell something terrible in the fridge. → ______!
4. Your friend tells you they got engaged. → ______!
5. You open a birthday gift and it's exactly what you wanted. → ______!

Suggested answers (other reasonable interjections also acceptable):
1. Hooray! / Yay! / Great! (joy)
2. Oh no! / Oops! (sadness/regret)
3. Yuck! / Ew! / Gross! (disgust)
4. Wow! / Congratulations! / Amazing! (surprise/joy)
5. Wow! / Hooray! / Amazing! (surprise/joy)

→ Full exercise pack: 32 questions across 5 exercises

Frequently asked questions

100 is enough to cover 5 emotion categories with 15 examples each (so no category feels under-represented) plus 10 in the agreement category. Research on vocabulary acquisition (Nation 2001, Learning Vocabulary in Another Language) suggests learners need multiple contexts per item to recognize it reliably — 15 examples per category provides that coverage without overwhelming A2 learners. The number is a pedagogical choice, not a magic number.

No. All 100 are unique to this page. The other pages in the collection use different sentences: the Exercises page (32 questions), Speaking Cards (15 situations), the Test (25 questions), and the Worksheets (60 questions). All 232 questions across the collection are non-overlapping, so a teacher can use them in the same course without repetition.

The most frequent are Wow (surprise), Oh (surprise + realization), Ouch (pain), Hooray (joy), and Yuck (disgust). These are also the interjections that Biber et al. (1999) identify as the most common in the Longman corpus of spoken English. The frequency roughly matches the corpus: the closed-class set of primary interjections is small (~30 items) and a handful dominate everyday usage. (Biber et al. 1999, ch. 14)

Because "Well," "OK," "Got it," "Right," and similar items are technically discourse markers rather than pure emotion interjections. Ameka (1992, §3) notes that some items in the interjection family signal social management (agreement, hesitation, topic shift) rather than emotion. We keep them on this page because they behave the same way grammatically — standalone, punctuated, context-dependent — but flag them as a distinct category with only 10 examples instead of 15. (Ameka 1992, §3)

Yes — free for personal and classroom use. You can print them, project them, quote them in your own handouts, and adapt them. The only restriction: don't redistribute the full page as your own material or republish it on another website. See the license page for the exact terms.

📚 Sources cited on this page

1. Ameka, F. K. (1992). Interjections: The universal yet neglected part of speech. Journal of Pragmatics, 18(2–3), 101–118. (Discourse-marker function of interjection-family items — basis for the Agreement category distinction.)
2. Wierzbicka, A. (1992). The semantics of interjection. Journal of Pragmatics, 18(2–3), 159–192. (Semantic framework for the 5-emotion taxonomy.)
3. Swan, M. (2016). Practical English Usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. §369 (exclamations), §370 (punctuation of interjections).
4. Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. (1985). A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Longman. Chapter 11, §11.5–11.6 (interjections and their classification).
5. Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Longman. Chapter 14, §14.4–14.6 (interjections and inserts — register distribution from the Longman corpus).
6. Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge University Press. (15 contexts per item rationale — cited in FAQ Q1.)
7. Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language Testing in Practice. Oxford University Press. Chapter 1 (diagnostic assessment framework, cited in mini-quiz intro).
8. Council of Europe. (2020). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment — Companion Volume. Council of Europe Publishing. (CEFR A2 descriptors for expressing feelings.)

Note on the 100 examples: Examples are designed for the A2 level and use only vocabulary from the A1–A2 CEFR word list (approximately 1,500 words). Where a secondary interjection like "Oh my God!" appears, it's flagged in the "Try also" line as informal/religious-sensitive — see the Complete Guide for the primary/secondary distinction.

🔗 All pages in the Interjections collection

• 📖 Complete Guide: definition, 5 categories, punctuation, dialogue
• ✍️ Exercises: 32 practice questions across 5 worksheets
• 📝 Rules: 8 punctuation rules with common mistakes
• 🗣️ Speaking Cards: 15 conversation situations
• 🎯 Test: 25-question online quiz with feedback
• 📥 Worksheets PDF: 16-page printable pack

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