Adjectives ending in -ed and –ing

-ed and –ing adjectives

Adjectives that end ‘-ed’ (e.g. ‘bored’, ‘interested’) and adjectives that end ‘-ing’ (e.g. ‘boring’, ‘interesting’) are often confused.

-ed adjectives

Adjectives that end ‘-ed’ describe emotions – they tell us how people feel about something.

I was very bored in the maths lesson. I almost fell asleep.

He was surprised to see Helen. She’d told him she was going to Australia.

Feeling tired and depressed, he went to bed.

-ing adjectives

Adjectives that end ‘-ing’ describe the thing that causes the emotion – a boring lesson makes you feel bored.

Have you seen that film? It’s absolutely terrifying.

I could listen to him for hours. He’s one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met.

I can’t eat this! It’s disgusting! What is it?

Remember that people can be boring but only if they make other people feel bored.

He talks about the weather for hours. He’s so boring.

NOT I was very boring at the party so I went home.

Here are some more adjectives that can have both an ‘-ed’ and an ‘-ing’ form