Adjectives ending in '-ed' and '-ing'
Do you know the difference between bored and boring?
Look at these examples to see how adjectives ending
in -ed and -ing are used.
I was really bored in that presentation.
That was a really boring presentation.
Grammar explanation
Adjectives that end in -ed (e.g. bored, interested) and
adjectives that end in -ing (e.g. boring, interesting) are
often confused.
-ed adjectives
Adjectives that end in -ed generally describe emotions –
they tell us how people feel.
*I was so bored in that lesson, I almost fell asleep.
*He was surprised to see Helen after all those years.
*She was really tired and went to bed early.
-ing adjectives
Adjectives that end in -ing generally describe the thing
that causes the emotion – a boring lesson makes you
feel bored.
Have you seen that film? It's really frightening.
I could listen to her for hours. She's so interesting.
I can't sleep! That noise is really annoying!
Here are some adjectives that can have both an -ed and
an -ing form.
annoyed annoying
bored boring
confused confusing
disappointed disappoint
Excitin
excited G
frightened frightening
interested interesting
surprised surprising
tired tiring
worried worrying
Some participles (like 'bored' or 'boring') can be used as
adjectives. These are used in a slightly different way from
normal adjectives. We usually use the past participle (ending in
-ed) to talk about how someone feels:
I was really bored during the flight (NOT: I was really boring
during the flight).
She's interested in history (NOT: She's really interesting in
history).
John's frightened of spiders (NOT: John's frightening of
spiders).
We usually use the present participle (ending in -ing) to talk
about the person, thing, or situation which has caused the
feeling:
It was such a long, boring flight (so I was bored).
I read a really interesting book about history (so I was
interested).
Many people find spiders frightening (so they're frightened
when they see spiders).
Be careful! 'I'm boring' is very different from 'I'm bored'! 'I'm
boring' means I cause other people to be bored. This is not
good! Here are some examples of when one person causes a
feeling in another person:
I was talking to such a boring guy at the party. He talked about
himself for an hour!
She's a really interesting woman. She's lived all over the world
and speaks five languages.
My maths teacher at school was really frightening! He was
always shouting at the students.
These participle adjectives make their comparative by using
'more' (not -er) and their superlative by using 'most' (not -est):
I was more frightened of dogs than spiders when I was a child.
That book is more boring than this one.
I think Dr Smith's lesson was more interesting than Dr
Brown's.
For 24 hours on the flight to Australia, I was the most
bored I've ever been.
I think this is the most interesting talk we've heard today.
It was the most frightening film that he'd ever seen.
Participle Adjectives Exercise 1 (based on the list below)
Participle Adjectives Exercise 2 (based on the list below)
List of common -ed and -ing adjectives
Download this list in PDF here
Download my much longer full list (no examples) in PDF
here
alarming alarmed
What an alarming noise! I was alarmed by the loud bang.
amusing amused
That TV programme is really He was amused to hear his little
amusing. son singing in the bath.
boring bored
I've never seen such a The students looked bored as
boring film! the teacher talked and talked.
confusing confused
I find these instructions very I was confused, because I asked
confusing! Could you come two people and they told me two
and help me? different things.
depressing depressed
This weather is depressing! I was feeling depressed, so I
Is it ever going to stop stayed at home with hot
raining? chocolate and a good book.
embarrassing embarrassed
That is the most John was really embarrassed
embarrassing photo! I look when he fell over in front of his
terrible! new girlfriend.
exciting excited
It's a really exciting book. I I'm so excited! I'm going on
couldn't wait to find out what holiday tomorrow!
happened at the end.
exhausting exhausted
I hate doing housework! It's Julie was so exhausted after her
exhausting! exams, she spent the next three
days sleeping.
fascinating fascinated
The brain is fascinating, isn't Joan was fascinated by her
it? It's amazing how much it grandmother's stories of life in
can do. the 1920s.
frightening frightened
What a frightening film! I I was really frightened of bees
don't want to walk home on when I was little, but I don't mind
my own now! them now.
frustrating frustrated
It's frustrating when you I tried all morning to send an
want to say something in email, but it wouldn't work. I was
another language, but you so frustrated!
don't know the word.
interesting interested
That was a very interesting She's interested in animals, so
book. she's thinking of studying to be a
vet.
overwhelming Overwhelmed ( abrumador)
I find London a bit Julie felt overwhelmed. She'd
overwhelming. It's so busy moved house, got a new job and
and noisy. was learning to drive, all at the
same time.
relaxing relaxed
A nice hot bath is so relaxing She was so relaxed, sitting in
after a long day. front of the fire, that she didn't
want to move.
satisfying satisfied
John loves his new job as a I'm very satisfied that I managed
teacher. He says it's very to order the meal in French.
satisfying when he makes a
student understand.
shocking shocked
What a shocking crime! It's I was shocked when my co-
terrible. worked admitted stealing some
money.
surprising surprised
It's surprising how many She was surprised when she
people don't want to travel to arrived at her class and found
another country. the other students doing an
exam. She'd thought it was a
normal lesson.
terrifying terrified
What a terrifying dog! It's My little son is terrified of the
huge! dark. We always leave a light on
in his room at night.
thrilling thrilled
What thrilling music! It's I was thrilled to win first prize in
some of the most beautiful the competition.
music I've ever heard.
tiring tired
My job is really tiring. I don't David's too tired to come to the
get home until 10pm cinema tonight. He's going to go
sometimes. to bed early.
