Native speakers often use interjections as a way to connect in their natural, everyday English conversations.
One of the most common times that they use interjections is when they make a mistake.
Do you know what to say in English when you make a mistake?
Find out in today’s episode!
Hi I like very much your excellent podcasts, they are excellent and fun. I think that every English learner should listen to this. I have a small question, you are using a lot this phrase oh my gosh what is “gosh” is it like OMG? By the way please make your excellent transcripts a little cheaper?!
Thanks a lot
Yonatan Motzen
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Great question!
To answer your question, the word “gosh” is considered by some to be a politically correct way to say “God.”
At some point as a kid I was taught not to say “Oh my God” even though my family is not religious.
This is probably because of our country’s history of religious tolerance but now it’s just an expression to show surprise.
It looks like this:
- “Oh my god!!”
- “Oh my gosh!!”
Why learn to show surprise or express that you’ve made a mistake in English?
Showing surprise or expressing that you’ve made a mistake is a huge part of being fluent and connecting.
When you do these things you are showing your personality and that is what people identify with, what they connect with, and what they fall in love with.
Interjections to acknowledge a mistake in English:
- “Woops” or “Woopsie daisies”: This is old fashioned. It’s not used much anymore but it’s important to understand. If you want to hear this being used in a funny way you should watch Notting Hill. In the scene where Hugh Grant has to climb the fence he says it and it’s hilarious because it makes him sound like an elderly woman.
- “oh oops” or “Oopsie”
- “Darnit”
- “My bad” or “My fault”: These are used when you are taking responsibility for the mistake.
Want to learn more interjections?
In this episode we showed you how to use interjections to support the speaker in English.
What questions do you have from today’s episode?
Let us know in the comments below.