Hello,
I'm trying to come up with a list of common interjections to jazz up my spoken English. Having no problems with 'aw', 'duh' or 'huh', I realized there are too many ways to express annoyance or surprise. What I've got so far is:
expressing annoyance/anger/disappointment
darn!
rats!
drat!
blast!
shit! (impolite)
damn! (impolite)
(I won't use the last two much)
expressing surprise
jeez
gee
gosh
goodness
whoa
Are any of them hopelessly dated? Are there any other commonly used interjections that can be added to the lists?
Thank you!
It's very hard to give a clear answer, because so many of these words are generation-tied. Some of the expressions my 87-year-old mother uses seem positively Victorian to me; I am sure my offspring feel the same about some of the expressions I use.
These seem dated to me:
I think these were dated when I was a child, and that was a frighteningly long time ago.darn!
rats!
drat!
blast!![]()
I think 5jj is being droll. Firkin isn't the word used by the younger generation, but sounds a bit like the one that is used. Using the real word would be considered vulgar etc.
My impression is that the kids today speak in abbreviations, saying thing such as lol, rofl, wtf and omfg. No, really, I've heard people actually say those !!
I say "Darn it!" very frequently. But then, I was all in favor of returning to the kinder, gentler era of things like "oh my stars and garters!"
I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.