Adjectives with -ed or -ing

Adjectives with -ed or -ing

by Thiha Soe

​Do you know what is the different between "bored and "boring"?

​I was really bored in that presentation.

That was a really boring presentation.

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​-ed adjectives

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Adjectives that end in -ed generally describe emotions – they tell us how people feel.

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1. ​I was so bored in that lesson, I almost fell asleep.

2. ​He was surprised to see Helen after all those years.

3. ​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.

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1. ​Have you seen that film? It's really frightening.

2. ​I could listen to her for hours. She's so interesting.

3. ​I can't sleep! That noise is really annoying!

​Here are some adjectives that have both -ed and -ing form.

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annoyed ............................................... annoying

bored ............................................... boring

confused ............................................... confusing

disappointed ............................................... disappointing

excited ...............................................exciting

frightened ............................................... frightening

interested ............................................... interesting

surprised ............................................... surprising

tired ............................................... tiring

worried ............................................... worrying

Multiple Choice

He's a big dog but you don't need to be ___.

• frightened

• frightening

Multiple Choice

The instructions for my new coffee machine are really ___.

• confused

• confusing

Multiple Choice

I loved my English teacher! Lessons with him were never ___.

• bored

• boring

Multiple Choice

That shop never has any customers. I'm ___ it's still there.

• surprised

• surprising

Multiple Choice

I'm reading a really ___ book.

• interested

• interesting

Multiple Choice

The battery on my phone only lasts about two hours. It's really ___.

• annoyed

• annoying

Multiple Choice

I was ___ that I didn't get the job.

• disappointed

• disappointing

Multiple Choice

The children were so ___ they couldn't sleep.

• excited

• exciting