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Bored or boring? -ed and -ing adjectives
B1 B1 grammar · lesson 22 of 23
Many learners say ‘I am boring’ when they mean ‘I am bored’. This lesson shows the simple difference between -ed and -ing adjectives so you can describe feelings correctly.
The rule
Many adjectives come in pairs, one ending in -ed and one ending in -ing.
- -ed adjectives describe how a person feels: I’m bored.
- -ing adjectives describe the thing, situation or person that causes the feeling: This lesson is boring.
| -ed (the feeling) | -ing (the cause) |
|---|---|
| bored | boring |
| interested | interesting |
| tired | tiring |
| excited | exciting |
| surprised | surprising |
| worried | worrying |
| confused | confusing |
| embarrassed | embarrassing |
| disappointed | disappointing |
| frightened | frightening |
The film was very boring, so we were bored.
I’m interested in history. I think it’s really interesting.
It was a tiring journey. Everyone felt tired.
The children are excited about the trip.
The news was surprising. We were all surprised.
These instructions are confusing. I’m confused.
Ken fell over in front of everyone. It was so embarrassing!
Mia was disappointed with her exam results.
Notice the spelling. Some verbs double the last letter or change y: embarrass → embarrassed, worry → worried. And some feelings have no -ing partner in common use, for example scared (the cause is scary).
People can be both
A person can be -ed or -ing, but the meaning is very different.
- Sam is bored. = Sam feels bored.
- Sam is boring. = Sam makes other people feel bored. (Not nice!)
- Lucy is interested. = Lucy wants to know more.
- Lucy is interesting. = People like talking to Lucy because she has interesting ideas.
So be careful when you talk about yourself. If you say I am boring, people will think you are describing your personality, not your feeling at the moment.
Prepositions often follow -ed adjectives: interested in, bored with, worried about, excited about, surprised at/by, disappointed with.
Common mistakes
✗ I’m very boring today. There’s nothing to do.
✓ I’m very bored today. There’s nothing to do.
✗ The match was very excited.
✓ The match was very exciting.
✗ I’m interesting in music.
✓ I’m interested in music.