Adjectives ending in "-ed" and "-ing"

Do you know the difference between bored and boring?

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.

Explanation

"ing" adjectives are used to describe the characteristics or the features of something or someone. "ed" ending adjectives are used to describe our feelings or our emotions.

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.