1. Grammar
  2. A1-A2 grammar
  3. Adjectives ending in '-ed' and '-ing'

Adjectives ending in '-ed' and '-ing'

Adjectives ending in '-ed' and '-ing'

Do you know the difference between bored and boring? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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

Grammar test 1: Adjectives ending in '-ed' and '-ing'

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

Grammar test 2: Adjectives ending in '-ed' and '-ing'

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Submitted by Mohamed_Hussien20 on Thu, 23/11/2023 - 10:25

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The New Manager Is So Annoying! He Keeps Asking Us For Big Tasks.
I`m Very Excited About Our New Life Together.
Her New Born Baby Girl Is Annoying She Doesn`t Stop Crying

Submitted by takao ayumi on Thu, 16/11/2023 - 09:05

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I was so exhausted about him, he was going somewhere where I couldn't cover mindlessly.

Submitted by PEKO on Mon, 30/10/2023 - 11:54

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I am excited in the new games on steam.
The computer can't be fixed on tomorrow. It is disappointing!

Profile picture for user hasnaa sakr

Submitted by hasnaa sakr on Thu, 19/10/2023 - 18:36

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I was bored in the meeting. I almost fell tired.
My manager was surprised to announce me to the star award.
My colleagues were excited about the meeting. They are almost hardworking. I couldn't listen to her for hours. She is so boring. I can't study! That noise is really annoying.

Hello vannarahay,

The explanation is on the page above - I'm not sure what I can add to it!

 

In brief, -ed adjectives describe feelings and -ing adjectives describe characteristics. For example:

The film is frightening. [this tells us about the film]

I was frightened in the cinema. [this tells us about how I felt]

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Cris.-2023 on Sat, 14/10/2023 - 00:51

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I was so tired that I didn't listen my teacher's lessons.

Submitted by arabi on Mon, 25/09/2023 - 17:06

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i am excited to finish this level with you , now i can use prepositions with adjectives in right sentences , and i can describe feeling of me or people .
i was confused about adjectives between -ed and -ing , but now i am sure

Submitted by Tuba.ba on Mon, 18/09/2023 - 15:56

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I understand the difference. If we talk about people's feelings and want to describe them we should use -ed. However, if we want to describe something that causes the feeling, we should use -ing to describe that thing.