Unit 33: - Adjectives: -ed / -ing Forms

ImageAdjectives: -ed / -ing Forms

Many adjectives can end in -ed or -ing. For example:
- I'm excited about tomorrow.
- This is an exciting book.

When the adjective ends in -ed, it describes the feeling of something. For example:
- I'm interested in modern art. (This is my personal feeling)
- I was really bored yesterday.

When the adjective ends in -ing, it describes the feeling given by something. For example:
- Modern art is interesting. ("Modern art" can't feel, but it makes me feel interested.).
- The news was shocking. (The "news" gives us a shocking feeling)

Compare:
- He's bored. - He has nothing to do, he's not enjoying himself. This describes his feeling.
- He's boring. - He's not an interesting person. This describes the feeling he gives to other people.

Below are some common adjective pairs using -ed/-ing.
Note that the adjective doesn't change with number.

-ed Adjective

annoy - I don't get annoyed easily.
amazed - I'm amazed by hers artistic talent.
confused - I asked the teacher, but we were still confused.
disappointed - They were disappointed the weather was not good.
surprised
- I was surprised to see you.

amused
thrilled

-ing Adjective

annoying - Noisy mobile phones can be annoying.
amazing - The concert last might was amazing.
confusing - This textbook is really confusing.

disappointing
- Yesterday's weather was disappointing.

surprising
- I heard some surprising news.

amusing
thrilling

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