Level: B1 | Topic: adjectives ending in -ed and -ing | Goal: I can describe my feelings and the things that cause them, choosing -ed or -ing correctly.
1. The rule
-ed adjectives describe how a person feels: I was bored in the meeting. She is interested in history.
-ing adjectives describe the person, thing or situation that causes the feeling: The meeting was boring. History is interesting.
People can be -ing too, but the meaning changes: He is bored = he feels bored. He is boring = other people find him boring.
Quick check: ask yourself “Who feels it?” (use -ed) or “What causes it?” (use -ing).
2. Common pairs
| How I feel (-ed) | What causes the feeling (-ing) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bored | boring | The training was boring, so we were bored. |
| interested | interesting | I am interested in the new project. It is very interesting. |
| tired | tiring | The journey was tiring. I felt tired all evening. |
| excited | exciting | We were excited about the trip. It was an exciting week. |
| surprised | surprising | The results were surprising. Everyone was surprised. |
| confused | confusing | The instructions were confusing, and I felt confused. |
| worried | worrying | The news is worrying. I am worried about my family. |
| annoyed | annoying | The noise was annoying. My colleague was annoyed. |
| disappointed | disappointing | The film was disappointing. We were disappointed. |
| embarrassed | embarrassing | It was an embarrassing mistake. I felt embarrassed. |
| frightened | frightening | The storm was frightening. The children were frightened. |
| relaxed | relaxing | The weekend was relaxing. I came back relaxed. |
| exhausted | exhausting | The exercise was exhausting. We were exhausted. |
| amazed | amazing | The view was amazing. I was amazed. |
3. Prepositions after -ed adjectives
| Adjective + preposition | Example |
|---|---|
| interested in | I am interested in military history. |
| bored with | She was bored with the same tasks every day. |
| tired of (= fed up with) | I am tired of waiting. |
| excited about | We are excited about the new course. |
| worried about | He is worried about the exam. |
| disappointed with / in / by | I was disappointed with the results. I am disappointed in you. We were disappointed by the decision. |
| surprised at / by | They were surprised by the news. |
| frightened of | My son is frightened of dogs. |
| annoyed with (a person) / about (a thing) | She was annoyed with me about the delay. |
| embarrassed about | I was embarrassed about my mistake. |
4. Pronunciation of -ed
| Sound | When | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /t/ | after voiceless sounds (p, k, s, sh, ch, f) | relaxed, shocked, embarrassed |
| /d/ | after voiced sounds (vowels, n, l, r, v, b, g) | worried, annoyed, frightened, bored |
| /ɪd/ | after t or d | interested, excited, disappointed, exhausted |
5. Typical mistakes
- “I am boring.” when the speaker means the feeling. In Latvian, one word (garlaicīgi) can describe both the feeling and the cause. In English: I am bored. The lesson is boring.
- “I am interesting in history.” The person feels interest: I am interested in history.
- “The film was bored.” A film cannot feel: The film was boring.
- “We felt tiring after the journey.” After feel, we usually describe the person: We felt tired.
6. Reading: A long day at the training centre
Last Tuesday, Martins went to a one-day training course on new software. He was excited about it because he wanted to learn something useful for his job. However, the morning was disappointing. The trainer spoke very fast, and the instructions on the screen were confusing. Many people looked bored, and some were checking their phones.
After lunch, things changed. A new trainer started a practical session. She was relaxed and friendly, and her examples were really interesting. Martins was surprised that he could do all the tasks himself. At the end of the day, he felt tired but satisfied. “The morning was exhausting,” he told his manager, “but the afternoon was amazing. Now I am not worried about using the software at work.”
Tasks: 1. How did Martins feel before the course? 2. Why was the morning disappointing? Give two reasons. 3. What made the afternoon different? 4. Find four -ed adjectives and four -ing adjectives in the text. For each one, say who feels it or what causes it.
Answers
1. He was excited (about the course). 2. The trainer spoke very fast, and the instructions were confusing. 3. A new trainer was relaxed and friendly, her examples were interesting, and the session was practical. 4. -ed: excited, bored, relaxed, surprised, tired, satisfied, worried (feelings of people); -ing: disappointing, confusing, interesting, exhausting, amazing (the morning, instructions, examples, afternoon cause the feeling).
7. Practice
A. Choose the correct word.
- The meeting lasted three hours. It was really (bored / boring).
- I am (interested / interesting) in learning more about logistics.
- We were (surprised / surprising) when the manager cancelled the exercise.
- The new rules are (confused / confusing). Can you explain them again?
- She felt (embarrassed / embarrassing) because she forgot his name.
- Driving at night in the snow is (frightened / frightening).
B. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the word in brackets.
- After the long march, all the soldiers were ___. (exhaust)
- The results of the test were ___, so we have to practise more. (disappoint)
- Don’t be ___ about the interview. You are well prepared. (worry)
- I find my colleague’s jokes really ___. (annoy)
- Our holiday by the lake was very ___. (relax)
- He was ___ by the beautiful old city. (amaze)
C. Each sentence has one mistake. Correct it.
- I am boring at work because I do the same tasks every day.
- The presentation was very interested.
- We are excited for the new course. (Use the preposition from the table.)
- She is frightened from big dogs.
D. Write three sentences about your last week: one thing that was interesting, one thing that made you tired, and one thing you were worried about.
Answers
A: 1 boring, 2 interested, 3 surprised, 4 confusing, 5 embarrassed, 6 frightening.
B: 1 exhausted, 2 disappointing, 3 worried, 4 annoying, 5 relaxing, 6 amazed.
C: 1 I am bored at work… 2 …was very interesting. 3 We are excited about the new course. 4 She is frightened of big dogs.
D: own answers, for example: The new project was interesting. The long journey made me tired. I was worried about the test.