-ed and -ing Adjectives

Form

Many adjectives come in pairs made from the same verb, one ending in -ed and one in -ing: interested / interesting, bored / boring, tired / tiring, confused / confusing.

The -ed adjective describes how a person feels (I'm bored). The -ing adjective describes the person, thing or situation that causes that feeling (The meeting was boring). So a person can take either ending, with different meanings: “She is bored” says how she feels, while “She is boring” says she makes other people feel that way. Things and situations normally take only the -ing form, because they cannot have feelings: “The news was shocking”, not “The news was shocked.” A few pairs use a different ending for the cause: stressed / stressful, scared / scary, impressed / impressive.

When to Use It

1. 1

   Use the -ed form for how someone feels

   I was confused by the instructions.

2. 2

   Use the -ing form for the thing, person or situation that causes the feeling

   The instructions were confusing.

3. 3

   Use the -ed form after feel, get, become and seem when they describe a person's state

   He got bored halfway through the movie.

4. 4

   Use the -ing form to say what a person is like for other people

   Our new neighbor is really interesting — she has lived in five countries.

5. 5

   Use the -ing form after find + a thing to give your opinion of it

   I found the lecture boring.

6. 6

   Follow many -ed adjectives with their usual preposition: interested in, excited about, worried about, bored with, surprised by

   We were excited about the trip.

Common Mistakes

• Using -ing for your own feelings: write I'm interested in the job, not I'm interesting in the job — the second says you are an interesting person.
• Using -ed for a thing: write The movie was boring, not The movie was bored — a movie cannot feel anything.
• Saying “I'm boring” when you mean “I'm bored”: “I'm boring” tells people that you make them bored.
• Inventing an -ing form where English uses a different ending: write a stressful week, not a stressing week, and a scary movie, not a scaring movie.