The Core Difference in One Sentence
* -ing adjectives describe the cause of a feeling or situation.
* -ed adjectives describe the feeling or effect itself.
1. The -ing Form: Describing the Cause
Use the -ing form to describe the characteristic of a person, a thing, or a situation that causes a reaction. It answers the question, "What is it like?" It's an active form.
Think: This thing is doing the action. It is causing the feeling.
Examples:
* "The movie was boring."
* (The movie caused the feeling of boredom.)
* "That was an amazing performance."
* (The performance caused the feeling of amazement.)
* "My job is tiring."
* (The job causes me to feel tired.)
* "His speech was inspiring."
* (The speech caused others to feel inspired.)
Notice that -ing adjectives can describe people, too, when we're talking about their effect on others.
* "My teacher is boring." (He makes the students feel bored.)
* "She is an interesting person." (She makes others feel interested.)
2. The -ed Form: Describing the Feeling or Effect
Use the -ed form to describe how someone feels. It describes the effect that something has on a person (or, sometimes, an animal). It's a passive form.
Think: This person is receiving the feeling.
Examples:
* "I was bored during the movie."
* (This is how I felt.)
* "The audience was amazed by the performance."
* (This is how the audience felt.)
* "I feel tired after my job."
* (This is the effect the job has on me.)
* "I felt inspired after his speech."
* (This is how I felt.)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Looking at pairs of sentences is the best way to see the difference clearly.
| The Cause (-ing form) | The Effect/Feeling (-ed form) |
|---|---|
| The news was shocking. | I was shocked by the news. |
| The journey was exhausting. | The travelers were exhausted after the journey. |
| The instructions are confusing. | I am confused by the instructions. |
| The rollercoaster is thrilling. | The children are thrilled to ride the rollercoaster. |
| His joke was not amusing. | We were not amused by his joke. |
A Simple Trick to Help You Choose
When you're trying to decide which form to use, ask yourself these questions:
* Is the noun causing the feeling?
* If yes, use -ing.
* Example: The horror film. Does it cause fear or feel fear? It causes fear. So, it's a frightening film.
* Is the noun experiencing or receiving the feeling?
* If yes, use -ed.
* Example: The person watching the film. Do they cause fear or feel fear? They feel fear. So, they are frightened.
Important Note: Irregular Verbs
While many past participles end in -ed, remember that irregular verbs have different endings (like -en, -t, -n). The principle remains the same.
* break: a broken heart (the heart that has been broken)
* speak: the spoken word (the word that has been spoken)
* freeze: frozen food (the food that has been frozen)
Test Your Understanding
Choose the correct adjective for each sentence.
* I am so ____! I think I'll go to bed. (tiring / tired)
* The documentary about space was ____. (fascinating / fascinated)
* She was ____ by the loud noise downstairs. (alarming / alarmed)
* This is the most ____ book I have ever read. (exciting / excited)
* He's such a ____ person. He never stops talking about himself. (boring / bored)
Answers:
* tired (describes how you feel)
* fascinating (describes the documentary, the cause of the feeling)
* alarmed (describes how she felt)
* exciting (describes the book, the cause of the feeling)
* boring (describes the person's effect on others; he causes boredom)
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