Are You Bored or Boring? Adjectives with 'ing' or 'ed' Endings
I hear many of my students tell me 'It's very interested' or 'I'm exciting' etc. I know it's really confusing that there are two similar adjectives with two different suffixes (endings) for example, 'bored' and 'boring'. Is it 'I am bored' or 'I am boring'? Let me give you a simple explanation.
'ed' Suffix:
The adjectives ending in 'ed' describe a feeling or emotion. This feeling is usually temporary and usually for a person (or some animals). For example Pronoun + to be (I'm/he's/she's/they're/we're) bored, interested, confused, surprised, delighted, annoyed, embarrassed etc.
'ing' Suffix:
In comparison, the adjectives ending in 'ing' describe a characteristic of a thing, person or place. For example, This is/That is/It's/He's/She's boring, interesting, confusing, surprising, annoying, embarrassing etc.
A movie, for example, can be boring. 'I'm bored. This movie is boring.'
A class can be interesting. 'I'm interested in this class. This class is interesting.'
Grammar can be confusing. 'I'm confused by this. This is confusing.'
Can you see the difference clearly now?
Have a go at filling in these blanks:
My baby is getting ______ so I must leave. (annoying/annoyed)
Speaking in front of people is ______. (embarrassing/embarrassed)
I was ______ that he said that. (shocked/shocking)
The announcement was really ______. (surprising/surprised)
The situation in Syria is ______. (worried/worrying)
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Sarah
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Sarah x