The interjection alas expresses grief or regret resulting from something described. It should always be associated with something negative.
Examples
For example, alas works well in these sentences because it is followed by something the writer finds unfortunate:
Alas, catfish football is no more … [Miami Herald]
Alas, James had finals and couldn’t attend. [ESPN]
It’s usually best to separate alas from the surrounding sentence with commas (or a single comma if alas begins or ends a sentence), but some writers get away with using alas as a quasi adverb meaning sadly:
The former seems alas the more likely bit of conjecture, but let’s play around with the second. [Guardian]
Like most interjections, alas also works as a standalone sentence—for example:
Alas! If a witty riposte or soulful rebuke could shut down a drunken bully, history would have played out very differently, my dear. [Boston Globe]
Following alas with an exclamation point, as in the above example, creates a ironic tone.
