Participial Adjectives: -Ed v.s. -Ing

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)