Adjectives ending in -ed and -ing

Many feeling adjectives come in pairs made from the same verb (bore, interest, tire, excite…). The -ed form says how someone feels; the -ing form describes the person, thing or situation that causes the feeling.

• The film was boring, so I was bored.

  the film causes the feeling → boring; I feel it → bored

• Lan is interested in the course because it's really interesting.

• After a tiring day at work, I'm too tired to cook.

💡In many languages one word covers both ideas. English splits them: the person who has the feeling → bored, the thing that causes it → boring. Before you choose, ask: does the subject feel the emotion, or cause it?

An -ing adjective can describe a person, but the meaning changes completely: I'm bored = I feel bored; I'm boring = I make other people feel bored. In the same way, She's interested = she wants to know more; She's interesting = she is an interesting person.

• Minh talks about his car all the time. He's so boring.

• Our new teacher is really interesting — we never get bored in her class.

• I was confused because his explanation was so confusing.

• Stop clicking your pen — it's really annoying!

Some patterns you will meet a lot:

• -ed adjectives after be, feel, get, look, seem: I feel relaxed, she got bored, you look worried.
• -ed adjectives often take a fixed preposition: interested in, bored with (in speech also bored of), excited about, worried about, surprised at / by, disappointed with / by, tired of (= fed up with), frightened / scared of. See also the lesson “Adjective + preposition”.
• -ing adjectives often go before a noun to describe a thing or event: a boring meeting, an exciting match, surprising news.
• find + something + -ing adjective gives your opinion of it: I find this app confusing.

• I'm really excited about the trip to Da Lat.

• My parents get worried when I come home late.

• Hoa is tired of eating instant noodles every day.

  tired of = fed up with, not “needing rest”

• We watched an exciting match last night.

• Do you find English grammar confusing?

The -ed ending of these adjectives sounds just like the past tense ending: /ɪd/ after t and d (interested, excited, disappointed); /t/ after voiceless sounds such as k, s, ʃ (shocked, relaxed, embarrassed); /d/ after all other sounds (bored, tired, surprised, annoyed, confused, worried, frightened).

💡Many learners drop final consonants, so bored can sound like bore and relaxed like relax — and the listener hears a verb instead of an adjective. Say the final /d/ or /t/ clearly.

• ✗I'm boring. Let's go out.

  ✓I'm bored. Let's go out.

  Your own feeling → -ed. I'm boring = you make other people bored.

• ✗The match was very excited.

  ✓The match was very exciting.

  The match causes the feeling → -ing.

• ✗I'm interesting in music.

  ✓I'm interested in music.

  You are the one with the feeling → interested in.

• ✗This map is so confused.

  ✓This map is so confusing.

  The map makes people confused → -ing.

• ✗I was very embarrassing when I fell over.

  ✓I was very embarrassed when I fell over.

  Your own feeling → -ed.

• ✗I'm very tiring today.

  ✓I'm very tired today.

  You feel it → tired; tiring is the activity that makes you tired.