Write Adjectives with Ed and ING

“There is nothing to do. I am boring.”

What’s wrong with this sentence? Do you think it’s strange? It means, “Other people think I am boring.” Maybe that is true, but usually my students don’t want to to write that.

This writing mistake can teach us how to fix a common error made by many ESL students.

Photo by Samael Kreutz

Write This, Not That

Write this: “There is nothing to do. I am bored.”

Not that: “There is nothing to do. I am boring.”

Do you see the small change? Boring is changed to bored.

Fix The Writing Mistake

ESL students make this writing mistake with adjectives that describe people’s feelings. Here are some of these adjectives.

annoyed – annoying
bored – boring
confused – confusing
excited – exciting
interested – interesting
surprised – surprising

Some words end with ED and some end with ING. When do you use ED and ING?

Here is a simple rule that shows you how to use each word properly.

If you are talking about a person’s feelings: use ED.
If you are talking about a thing: use ING.

Here are some examples.

• They are interested in ice hockey.
• The class was confused by the math teacher’s explanation.

• The movie is boring.
• Soccer is interesting.

Grammar Point

1. Adjectives with ED are called past participles.
2. Adjectives with ING are called present participles.