Expressions of Surprise, Shock, Fear and Sadness
CHENNAI: Three students of engineering were discussing their semester examination results in a particular course:
Student 1: I did the exam well and expected an ‘S’ grade (above 90%) in the course but I got only a pass grade. I’m very much disappointed.
Student 2: Oh my gosh, it is unbelievable! You must apply for revaluation. Mine is an interesting story. My performance on the exam was not up to the mark. I thought I would flunk but I got a B.
Student 1: Really? You must be very happy. Congrats!
Student 3: My story is more interesting than yours. I didn’t know answers to any of the Part B questions. I scribbled…and was in the exam hall only for an hour. You know my grade. I got an ‘A’.
Student 1: Oh my god!
Student 2: Incredible! Is it true?
The expressions ‘Oh my gosh’ and ‘Oh my god’ are used to express surprise or shock. When people are surprised or shocked by something they use these exclamations in their conversations.
A few days ago, a student of mine was talking about her friend who is an introvert. She has never seen her friend hanging out with male students. When she learnt the friend is in love with one of her classmates, she was surprised and said, “Oh my god! Sheeba is in love.”
Is there any difference between the two expressions? People who believe in God, use the expression “Oh, my god!”. Those who don’t want to sound religious or don’t want to offend the religious sentiments of others use the expression “Oh, my gosh!”.
Both the exclamatory expressions are commonly used in British as well as American English. Here are some authentic examples from the two variants of the English language:
• Here is an extract from Mark Ronson’s song:
Oh my god, I can’t believe it
I’ve never been this far away from home
• Here is another extract from Basement Jaxx Lyrics:
Oh my gosh he’s making eyes at me and I don’t mind at all
Oh my gosh he’s making my imagination run wild
Below are examples from British National Corpus:
• Oh my gosh, what have you done?
• My gosh, he’s wonderful!
The shortened form of “Oh my god” or “Oh my gosh” is omg or OMG which is mainly used in online chats. It can be used to express excitement, surprise, sadness, fear or emphasis.
Expressing excitement:
A: Sangeetha is getting married next week.
B: OMG! I’m excited about attending the wedding.
Expressing sadness:
A: Sad news. A student of our college met with an accident this morning and is in a critical condition.
B: OMG, that’s so sad!
Expressing fear:
A: Our exam results are going to be sent to our parents.
B: OMG! I have failed in all five subjects. I’m scared.
Expressing emphasis:
• Gosh, John is part of the team.
• Gosh, your salary will be credited only after June 15.
“I dont know what I’m doing with myself. I’m just walking on a red carpet, oh my god!” — Cher Lloyd.
— rayanal@yahoo.co.uk
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