Oh shit, oh fuck, oh hell, oh dang

[Off_base]

The differentiation between surprised and it was just your turn would be conveyed by the tone, not by an extra word.

If you are doing 70 down the highway and chains on the logging truck in front of you break, FUCK!!!!!!! is all the surprise you need.

Oh, okay

 

[Off_base]

The differentiation between surprised and it was just your turn would be conveyed by the tone, not by an extra word.

If you are doing 70 down the highway and chains on the logging truck in front of you break, FUCK!!!!!!! is all the surprise you need.

Just to be clear on my point, if I was present and could hear the tone in just "fuck", I might be able to get the gist from that single word.

Reading it, however, "oh" is the thing that helps convey the tone of the reaction as surprised and angry, not just angry.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Just to be clear on my point, if I was present and could hear the tone in just "fuck", I might be able to get the gist from that single word.

Reading it, however, "oh" is the thing that helps convey the tone of the reaction as surprised and angry, not just angry.

Context and the rest of the story can fill that gap without "oh".

You should write dialogue the way people actually speak, and using all the "ohs" isn't how people talk.

 

[Belegon]

Maybe

But, "fuck" is just a reaction.
As if finding your car up on blocks is common, and it was just your turn.

"Oh, Fuck" is a surprised realization that your car was up on blocks, followed by the reaction.

Had a car stolen once, many years ago. It is quite a disconcerting experience.

 

[ADirtyPerv]

You should write dialogue the way people actually speak, and using all the "ohs" isn't how people talk.

Well that's an overgeneralization. I hear the "oh" pretty frequently.

 

[cw5523729]

I feel like the debate regarding adding "oh" to "fuck" needs it's own separate thread.

And despite it being seasonally appropriate, no one seems to have mentioned Oh, Fudge!

 

[Off_base]

Context and the rest of the story can fill that gap without "oh".

You should write dialogue the way people actually speak, and using all the "ohs" isn't how people talk.

Oh, no I shouldn't. Oh my goodness. Oh Lord. Oh, wow.
I'm so oh-ver writing all these phrases that no one says.
Silly me.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

Context and the rest of the story can fill that gap without "oh".

You should write dialogue the way people actually speak, and using all the "ohs" isn't how people talk.

I'm not so sure that you should. You should write dialogue that conveys the thing you intend without feeling unnatural. But often that's not the same as what people actually say in normal life. Our brains naturally filter out a lot of extra filler words, especially when remembering afterward. On the flip side there also are just things you cannot convey in writing using the same exact words, regardless of context.

 

[SimonDoom]

Oh, Bama.

Depending on how you pronounce it, a salute to the Crimson Tide football team, or acknowledgment of a former president.

 

[Off_base]

OMG

 

[cw5523729]

Oh, no I shouldn't. Oh my goodness. Oh Lord. Oh, wow.
I'm so oh-ver writing all these phrases that no one says.
Silly me.

Oh boy...

 

[cw5523729]

OMG

Do you say that aloud as "oh em gee" or as the actual words?

 

[Z_TheWriter]

Oh boy...

Oh Lawd, he writin'

 

[Off_base]

Oh boy...

 

[Off_base]

Do you say that aloud as "oh em gee" or as the actual words?

The "oh" is silent.

 

[stickygirl]

View attachment 2582406

Oh really?!

 

[cw5523729]

The "oh" is silent.

OIC

 

[dad_icarus]

Oh for fuck's sake.

 

[Off_base]

OIC

IKR?

 

[TheLobster]

seasonally appropriate

Bah, humbug!

 

[cw5523729]

IKR?

FS

 

[dad_icarus]

Am I the only one who sees, "Oh yeah!" and thinks Kool Aid Man's about to bust through a wall?

 

[cw5523729]

Am I the only one who sees, "Oh yeah!" and thinks Kool Aid Man's about to bust through a wall?

Oh great, another plot bunny!

 

[PennyThompson]

"Oh. Shit. Um. What did she say?"

Victoria holds out her phone so I can see a few of her messages with Rosa. There is a long string of heart and peach and hot face emojis.

 

[AG31]

They all depend on context.