Grammar Time: Adjectives ending in -ed and -ing

Let’s learn what’s the difference between adjectives ending in -ed and -ing not to confuse them.

Level A2 / B1

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 – роздратований (He felt annoyed.) annoying – дратівливий, досадний (His decision was annoying.)
  • amused – задоволений; відчуває розвагу amusing – кумедний, забавний
  • bored – знуджений boring – нудний
  • confused – розгублений, збентежений confusing – збиває з пантелику, заплутує
  • embarassed – збентежений, зніяковілий embarassing – стає соромно, пригнічує
  • exhausted – виснажений exhausting – виснажливий
  • disappointed – розчарований disappointing – розчаровує
  • depressed – пригнічений depressing – депресивний, гнітючий
  • disgusted – що відчуває огиду disgusting – огидний
  • frightened – наляканий frightening – лякає
  • frustrated – розчарований (відчуття переживання) frustrating – засмучує
  • fascinated – зачарований fascinating – захоплюючий, чарівний
  • excited – зворушений, піднесений exciting – захоплюючий
  • interested – зацікавлений interesting – цікавий
  • irritated – роздратований irritating – дратівливий
  • relaxed – розслаблений, спокійний  relaxing – розслаблюючий
  • surprised – здивований surprising – несподіваний
  • tired – втомлений tiring – виснажливий
  • worried – стурбований worrying – тривожний
  • shocked – шокований, приголомшений shocking – шокуючий
  • satisfied – задоволений  satisfying – що дає задоволення
  • entertained – відчувати себе розважально entertaining – розважальний
  • terrified – переляканий terrifying – жахливий
  • thrilled – відчувати схвильованим thrilling – захоплюючий
  • inspired – натхненний inspiring – надихаючий

Have practice in using adjectives ending in -ed and -ing.

Task 1 . Choose the correct variant.

  1. The movie is boring / bored.
  2. The children get boring / bored.
  3. Most runners were exhausted / exhausting.
  4. A marathon is exhausted / exhausting.
  5. Cold weather is depressing / depressed.
  6. The boy was depressing / depressed.
  7. The woman was tiring / tired.
  8. Ironing is very tired / tiring.
  9. The girl was frightening / frightened.
  10. The monster is frightening / frightened.
  11. Yoga is very relaxing / relaxed.
  12. I’m excited / exciting to meet her.
  13. The trip was very interested / interesting.
  14. She was surprising / surprised with my present.
  15. She is not satisfying / satisfied with her car.
  16. Phrasal verbs are frustrated / frustrating.
  17. They were tiring / tired after the match.
  18. Mom is worrying / worried about me.
  19. This music is really annoyed / annoying.
  20. The game is amused / amusing!

Task 2. Choose the adjective to complete the sentences.

 1. She’s got a big dog but you don’t need to be __________.

2. The instructions for my new coffee machine are really __________.

3. I loved my maths teacher! Lessons with her were never __________.

4. That shop never has any customers. I’m __________ it’s still there.

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

6. I was ___ that I didn’t get the job.

7. I’m reading a really ___ book.

8. The children were so ___ they couldn’t sleep.

9. Peter was __ when he missed the start of the film.

  • annoyed
  • annoying

10. Have you read the book ‘Life of Pi’? It’s a great book, especially if you are __ in that genre.

  • interested
  • interesting

11. The results of the game were ___. The best team didn’t win.

  • surprised
  • surprising

12. The children were so __ when we told them we were going to Disneyland.

  • excited
  • exciting

13. Trying to understand English grammar can be so __.

  • frustrating
  • frustrated

14. John was __ when he went parachute jumping for the first time.

  • terrifying
  • terrified

15. When there are sales Sarah is not __ in anything except shopping.

  • interested
  • interesting

Task 3. Complete the sentence with -ed or -ing adjective made from the word in brackets.

  1. Winter days are ___________. (depress)
  2. Looking after my baby brother may sometimes be __________. (exhaust)
  3. Emma is a bit __________ now, because she has some problems at work. (stress)
  4. Daniel was __________ when he failed his language test. (disappoint)
  5. It is __________ when you listen to music so loud. (annoy)
  6. They were __________ when their parents unexpectedly visited them. (thrill)
  7. All students felt __________ after the teacher’s speech. (inspire)
  8. Look at the view from the window. You will be __________. (fascinate)
  9. My exam results were __________, but I counted for more. (satisfy)
  10. The last comedy was so __________ that I couldn’t stop laughing. (amuse)
  11. When was the last time you felt __________ ? (relax)
  12. I was __________ to see the snake next to my foot. (terrify)
  13. What smells so __________ ? (disgust)
  14. The last exercise was a bit __________. I spent an hour solving it. (confuse)
  15. You look __________. Did I make something wrong? (irritate)

Source:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/beginner-to-pre-intermediate/adjectives-ending-in-ed-and-ing
https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/adjectives-ending-ed-or-ing