Oh

Oh as an interjection

We use oh as an interjection to express surprise or disappointment:

A:
We’re almost out of petrol.

B:
Oh! We’d better find a station.

A:
Amanda is very good on the violin. She used to play in an orchestra.

B:
Oh! I never knew that.

A:
It’s going to cost quite a lot of money to fix the car.

B:
Oh. What’s wrong with it?

Oh as a discourse marker

We use oh as a discourse marker to respond to new information or to show that we have just discovered something surprising. We often use it with other discourse markers:

I can’t find the switch. Oh right, here it is.

A:
I need to talk to you urgently.

B:
Oh okay. Do sit down.

Oh, that’s …

We often use oh in responses with statements beginning with that’s:

A:
I tried to book a table at The Quays but they are booked out for Friday night.

B:
Oh, that’s a pity. We could try that new place, The Corn Market. I’ve heard it’s good.

A:
Some great news. I got the job in Manchester.

B:
Oh, that’s wonderful. Congratulations.

Oh yes and oh no

We often make oh more positive by adding yes, and more negative by adding no:

A:
The council has agreed to give us some money for the town festival.

B:
Oh yes!That’s great news.

A:
The weather forecast says it’s going to rain tomorrow.

B:
Oh no!What a pity.

Oh right

We use oh right when we want to acknowledge what has been said and to politely introduce a contradiction:

A:
I’ve been trying to phone Joe this morning to get an update. He doesn’t seem to be in his office.

B:
Oh right. Well, I did see his car in the car park.

Oh yeah

We use oh yeah with a rising intonation as a response token when we are listening to and responding to a story. It shows that we are very interested and want the story to continue:

A:
So then she decided to tell him what had happened.

B:
Oh ye↗ah.

A:
He wasn’t very pleased and then …

Oh well

We use oh well to acknowledge that what has been said is disappointing. We often add a suggestion after oh well:

A:
Liz can’t come so one of us will have to drive.

B:
Oh well. Let’s just get a taxi between us.

Oh dear

We use oh dear to respond to bad news:

A:
Veronica’s been in an accident. She’s in hospital.

B:
Oh dear. What happened?