The film was so boring! I was bored.
What's the difference? Find out in this post.
Some adjectives (describing words) in English have different forms depending on who or what they are describing.
Let's look at this example:
Sarah read a book. The book was so exciting. Sarah felt excited.
You can see that the first part of the adjective 'excit' stays the same. But we use different endings, either 'ing' or 'ed'.
1. 'ed' adjectives usually describe a feeling:
a) The woman was tired after work.
b) I was surprised by the news.
c) We are worried about your health.
They are used to talk about emotions. We usually use these adjectives to describe people.
2. 'ing' adjectives desribe the thing (or person) which causes the feeling.
a) The work was tiring. (It made the woman tired)
b) The news was surprising. (It made me surprised)
c) Your health is worrying. (It makes us worried)
We can use these adjectives to talk about people, but normally we use them for things.
Imagine you want to say your friend is bored. But you accidentally say he/she is boring! They probably wouldn't be very happy!
If a person if boring, they are not interesting - they make you feel bored.
Practise choosing 'ed' or 'ing' adjectives in the following activity.
Questions:
Fill the gaps with the correct form of the adjective. Then, answer the questions to practise your writing. Write your answers in your notebook.
Complete the sentences with -ed- or -ing
1. What do you think is the most excit…...….. film you have seen?
2. What music do you listen to if you want to feel relax….....?
3. Have you ever been disappoint……….. by a film?
4. Do you ever get frustrat……… by technology?
5. What’s the most embarrass………. thing you’ve ever done?
6. Are you frighten………. of heights?
7. What’s the most bor………. film you’ve seen?
8. What do you normally feel worr............... about?
9. What is the most confus........... thing about learning English?
10. Do you find you feel tir……… in the morning?
11. What’s the most amaz……… experience you have had?
12. Which do you find more tir…….. , speaking English or listening to English?
Answers:
Check your answers. If you got a question wrong, go back and read the explanations about the adjectives again.
1. What do you think is the most exciting film you have seen?
2. What music do you listen to if you want to feel relaxed?
3. Have you ever been disappointed by a film?
4. Do you ever get frustrated by technology?
5. What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?
6. Are you frightened of heights?
7. What’s the most boring film you’ve seen?
8. What do you normally feel worried about?
9. What is the most confusing thing about learning English?
10. Do you find you feel tired in the morning?
11. What’s the most amazing experience you have had?
12. Which do you find more tiring, speaking English or listening to English?
Well done! You should now feel more confident using -ing and -ed adjectives.
For more activities, click on the green square: