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-ed and -ing adjectives: bored or boring?

B1 · 39 exercises

The rule in short

Bored or boring, interested or interesting: the -ed form says how a person feels, the -ing form says what causes the feeling. With the typical mistakes and how to pronounce the -ed ending.

Most pairs come from a verb that means "give someone a feeling": bore, interest, excite, worry. Add -ed or -ing with the normal spelling rules: surprise → surprised, surprising; worry → worried, worrying.

Verb-ed: how someone feels-ing: what causes the feeling
boreboredboring
interestinterestedinteresting
tiretiredtiring
exciteexcitedexciting
surprisesurprisedsurprising
worryworriedworrying
embarrassembarrassedembarrassing
confuseconfusedconfusing
disappointdisappointeddisappointing
annoyannoyedannoying
frightenfrightenedfrightening
relaxrelaxedrelaxing

Both forms can stand before a noun (a tiring day, a worried mother) or after verbs like be, feel, look, seem and get (I get bored easily).

Things usually take -ing. A book, a film, a job or the news cannot feel anything, so they are interesting, not interested. Some -ed adjectives can also describe things that show a person's feeling or the mood of a time or place: a worried look, a surprised voice, a relaxed evening.

People can be both, with different meanings. Tom is bored means Tom feels it: he has nothing to do. Tom is boring means other people feel it when they are with him. So I'm boring is not a way to say that you have nothing to do; it is a rather unkind thing to say about yourself. In the same way, Anna is interesting means people enjoy talking to her, while Anna is interested usually needs a topic: interested in history.

Small words after the -ed form. Many -ed adjectives take a preposition before the cause: interested in, worried about, excited about, frightened of, bored with. Note tired of, which means you no longer want something: I'm tired of the rain.

Pairs that break the pattern. A few feelings have a different word for the cause. You feel scared, and a film is scary (scaring is only a verb form: you're scaring me). Frightened and frightening follow the normal pattern and mean almost the same, so scared and frightened are both fine for the person. You feel pleased; for the thing, English normally says pleasant or nice (pleasing exists but is much less common).

Pronunciation. The -ed of these adjectives follows the same rule as regular past forms: an extra syllable /ɪd/ only after /t/ or /d/ (interested, excited, disappointed), otherwise just /d/ (bored, tired, worried) or /t/ (relaxed, embarrassed). The lesson on -s and -ed endings has the full rule.

Examples

  • The train was two hours late, and the passengers looked bored.
  • Anna is reading an interesting book about the history of her town.
  • Tom has always been interested in old maps.
  • Moving to a new flat is tiring. After three days of boxes, we were very tired.
  • The children are so excited about the holiday by the sea that they cannot sleep.
  • The news about the factory is worrying, and many workers are worried about their jobs.
  • I found the form on the website really confusing.
  • Tom felt embarrassed when his phone rang in the middle of the concert.
  • The second half of the game was disappointing.
  • Anna's cousin is nice but a bit boring: he only ever talks about his garden.

Lesson: “-ed and -ing adjectives: bored or boring?” (B1), Krumeto · https://krumeto.com/grammar/ed-and-ing-adjectives · written for Krumeto with the help of AI tools · Worksheet: krumeto.com

Krumeto-ed and -ing adjectives: bored or boring?Name ____________________

Exercises

A. Choose the right adjective.

This game is really ___. → boring

  1. This show is really ________. Let's watch something else. (bored / boring)
  2. Anna was ________ to hear that Tom had moved to another country. (surprised / surprising)
  3. Are you ________ in learning another language? (interested / interesting)
  4. The road was dark and narrow, and the drive home was quite ________. (frightened / frightening)
  5. Tom felt ________ after his first day at the new job. (tired / tiring)
  6. Lying on the beach all day is very ________. (relaxed / relaxing)

B. Read each situation and choose the right word.

  1. Tom tells the same three jokes at every party, and nobody wants to sit next to him. Tom is ________. (bored / boring)
  2. Tom is waiting at the station with nothing to read and nothing to do. He is ________. (bored / boring)
  3. Tom can't sleep because his brother plays loud music every night. Tom is ________. (annoyed / annoying)
  4. Tom's brother plays loud music every night and never says sorry. His brother is ________. (annoyed / annoying)
  5. Anna has climbed mountains, sailed across the sea and written two books. People love listening to her. Anna is ________. (interested / interesting)

C. Complete each sentence with the -ed or -ing form of the word in brackets.

The match was ___. (excite) → exciting

  1. The prices in this restaurant are ________. (shock)
  2. Tom was ________ when he saw how much the town had changed. (amaze)
  3. Anna felt ________ when she fell off her bike in front of the whole class. (embarrass)
  4. The end of the race was so ________ that nobody left their seats. (excite)
  5. It's ________ when the bus is late every morning. (annoy)
  6. Tom was ________ with his new phone. The battery is very weak. (disappoint)
  7. Walking up the hill in the hot sun was very ________. (tire)

D. Rewrite each sentence with an -ed or -ing adjective. Start with the words in brackets.

  1. The documentary bored me. (The documentary was …)
  2. The exam results disappointed Anna. (Anna was …)
  3. The trip to the zoo excited the children. (The children were …)
  4. The thunder frightened the dog. (The dog was …)
  5. The long journey tired Tom. (The long journey was …)

E. Put the words in order. Use all the words.

  1. gets / long / Anna / meetings / in / bored
  2. episode / the / found / second / I / very / disappointing
  3. Anna / excited / is / why / so / today
  4. confusing / last / part / of / the / the / was / exam

F. Correct the mistakes. Change only the adjective. Two of the sentences are already right: keep them as they are.

  1. We were all very surprising when Anna arrived early.
  2. The tour of the old castle was really interested.
  3. Anna's flight is delayed by six hours, and she is very boring.
  4. Anna's stories about her travels are never boring.
  5. I'm really annoying with Tom because he forgot my birthday.
  6. My little sister is frightening of big dogs.
  7. Tom is a very interesting person; he has lived in five countries.

G. Match each situation with how you feel.

    1. Tom keeps taking your pen without asking. ____
    2. You call your teacher Mum by mistake in front of the class. ____
    3. A stranger follows you down a dark street. ____
    4. You are lying in a warm bath with a good book. ____
    5. Your friend is in hospital, and you are waiting for news. ____
    1. a) worried
    2. b) embarrassed
    3. c) annoyed
    4. d) relaxed
    5. e) frightened
Krumeto-ed and -ing adjectives: bored or boring?Answer key

Answer key

A. The -ed form says how a person feels (I'm bored). The -ing form describes what causes the feeling (the film is boring).

  1. boring
  2. surprised
  3. interested
  4. frightening
  5. tired
  6. relaxing

B. A person can be both. Tom is bored = Tom feels it. Tom is boring = other people feel it because of Tom.

  1. boring
  2. bored
  3. annoyed
  4. annoying
  5. interesting

C. -ed for the person who feels (Tom was amazed), -ing for what causes the feeling (the prices are shocking).

  1. shocking
  2. amazed
  3. embarrassed
  4. exciting
  5. annoying
  6. disappointed
  7. tiring

D. A person or animal who feels takes -ed plus the cause (The dog was frightened by the thunder). A thing that causes the feeling takes -ing (The journey was tiring).

  1. The documentary was boring. / The documentary was boring for me.
  2. Anna was disappointed with the exam results. / Anna was very disappointed with the exam results.
  3. The children were excited about the trip to the zoo. / The children were very excited about the trip to the zoo.
  4. The dog was frightened by the thunder. / The dog was very frightened by the thunder.
  5. The long journey was tiring. / The long journey was tiring for Tom.

E. Adjectives go after be, get, feel and find + object, or before a noun. The -ed form is for the person who feels, the -ing form for the cause.

  1. Anna gets bored in long meetings. / In long meetings Anna gets bored.
  2. I found the second episode very disappointing.
  3. Why is Anna so excited today?
  4. The last part of the exam was confusing. / Was the last part of the exam confusing?

F. The person who feels takes -ed; the thing or person that causes the feeling takes -ing.

  1. We were all very surprised when Anna arrived early. — The people who saw Anna had the feeling: we were surprised.
  2. The tour of the old castle was really interesting. — A tour has no feelings; it causes interest: really interesting.
  3. Anna's flight is delayed by six hours, and she is very bored. — Anna has to wait for hours, so she has the feeling: she is very bored.
  4. Anna's stories about her travels are never boring. (✓) — This sentence is right: the stories cause the feeling, so boring.
  5. I'm really annoyed with Tom because he forgot my birthday. / I'm really annoyed at Tom because he forgot my birthday. — The speaker feels it: I'm annoyed with Tom.
  6. My little sister is frightened of big dogs. — Your sister has the feeling: frightened of big dogs.
  7. Tom is a very interesting person; he has lived in five countries. (✓) — This sentence is right: Tom causes interest in other people, so interesting.

G. The -ed adjective names the feeling of the person in the situation.

  1. 1 c · 2 b · 3 e · 4 d · 5 a

Lesson: “-ed and -ing adjectives: bored or boring?” (B1), Krumeto · https://krumeto.com/grammar/ed-and-ing-adjectives · written for Krumeto with the help of AI tools · Worksheet: krumeto.com

-ed and -ing adjectives: bored or boring? — worksheet | Krumeto