Forming adjectives ending in ‘-ing’ and ‘-ed’
Forming ‘-ing’ and ‘-ed’ adjectives
Many adjectives are created by taking a verb and then adding –ing or –ed:
- From the verb interest, we get the adjectives interesting and interested.
- From the verb surprise, we get the adjectives surprising and surprised.
-ing adjectives
If something interests you, it is interesting.
If something excites you, it is exciting.
| Common -ing adjectives | ||
| interesting | boring | exciting |
| frightening | surprising | annoying |
| refreshing | tiring | disappointing |
-ed adjectives
If something interests you, you are interested.
If something bores you, you are bored.
| Common -ed adjectives | ||
| interested | bored | excited |
| frightened | surprised | annoyed |
| refreshed | tired | disappointed |
Example sentences
- I watched a really interesting documentary on Netflix yesterday.
- I’m very interested in history, but I don’t like sport very much.
- The film was boring. I left the cinema before the end.
- I was bored at the cinema, so I left before the end of the film.
- We were really tired after the long journey.
- It was a long and tiring journey.
- We had a refreshing cold drink after the bike ride.
- We were refreshed after the cold drinks.