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.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
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 | disappointing |
| excited | exciting |
| frightened | frightening |
| interested | interesting |
| surprised | surprising |
| tired | tiring |
| worried | worrying |
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
the best lesson i ever learn
please , check my answer correct or not correct.
1. The movie is a really boring for me.
2. She's is disappointed for her job.
3. I'm very tried .so I want to bed early.
4. Physic major is a really interesting subject.so I am not boring .
Hello wai phyo hlaing,
There are a few mistakes in some of your sentences, but I can confirm that you've used the adjectives in sentences 1-3 correctly.
In sentence 4, 'interesting' is correct, but you should say 'I'm not bored' (instead of 'boring') since it is a feeling you have.
Does that make sense?
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Fantastic pro 👏🏻
IM REALY ENJOIED TO DAY BECAUSE THIS LESSO WAS VERY ENJOYING
Hello, I have a question regarding this topic. We learned that we use the adjectives that end with ing to describe things or people, but we use the adjectives that end with ed to describe what we feel or what someone feels. on the website of Oxford dictionary I found these sentences, could a teacher please explain to me how I can use " confused" in this way and what would these sentences mean if I used " confusing" ? because I am now confused.
Hello ah2500,
The explanation is correct but 'confused' can also mean 'unclear' or 'badly organised', and this is the meaning in these sentences. Accounts, thoughts and situations can be confused, and so can explanations, answers and reasoning, for example.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thanks for the response, Mr. Peter. So, confused in these sentences means " unclear." Correct me if I am wrong, please!
These instructions are confused = these instructions are unclear.
These instructions are confusing = these instructions makes me confused.
This is how we can use confused to describe things because things don't feel confused, right? I hope that the other adjectives that end in ed don't have another meanings like confused. It's gonna be a mess.
Hi ah2500,
Yes, that's correct. Well done!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
On the street where I live there many people talking very loud that is really annoying to me.
In my house many people are bored.
I am worried about my job.