Have you ever heard someone say, "I am very interesting in cricket" or "The exam was very bored"? In Indian English, confusing words ending in -ed and -ing is one of the most common grammar mistakes. These words are called participial adjectives. Mixing them up can completely change the meaning of your sentence—you might end up saying that a movie has feelings, or that you are a boring person!

The Core Rule

-ED adjectives describe how a person (or animal) feels. They describe an internal emotion or state.
-ING adjectives describe the cause of that feeling. They describe what a situation, thing, or person is like.

1. -ING Adjectives (The Cause)

Adjectives ending in -ing describe the characteristic of a person, a thing, or a situation. They tell us why someone feels a certain way.

Examples of -ING

✅ The lecture was boring. (The lecture caused boredom.)
✅ The cricket match was exciting. (The match caused excitement.)
✅ Ravi is an interesting person to talk to. (Ravi causes interest.)

2. -ED Adjectives (The Feeling)

Adjectives ending in -ed describe a feeling or emotion. Because only living things have feelings, -ed adjectives are almost always used to describe humans or animals, never inanimate objects or events.

Examples of -ED

✅ The students were bored. (They felt boredom.)
✅ I am excited about my new job at Infosys. (I feel excitement.)
✅ She was confused by the directions. (She felt confusion.)

3. Key Pairs to Master

Here are the most common -ed and -ing adjective pairs you need to know:

Common Participial Adjectives
The Feeling (-ED)The Cause (-ING)
boredboring
interestedinteresting
excitedexciting
tiredtiring
confusedconfusing
frustratedfrustrating
shockedshocking
embarrassedembarrassing
annoyedannoying

4. The "By" Phrase Connection

You can often see the relationship between these adjectives and passive voice verbs. If something is boring to you, you are bored by it.

  • The horror film was terrifying to me. → I was terrified by the horror film.
  • The news was surprising. → We were surprised by the news.

5. Common Mistakes by Indian Learners

Let's fix some typical errors heard in offices and classrooms:

  • ❌ "I am very interesting in data analysis."
    ✅ "I am very interested in data analysis." (You feel the interest.)
  • ❌ "The train journey was very tired."
    ✅ "The train journey was very tiring." (The journey caused the tiredness.)
  • ❌ "I felt very exhausting after the marathon."
    ✅ "I felt very exhausted after the marathon." (You experienced the exhaustion.)

✏️ Quick Practice — How do you feel?

  1. The instructions for the new software are very (confused / confusing).
  2. Neha was deeply (disappointed / disappointing) when she didn't get the promotion.
  3. I don't like horror movies. I find them too (frightened / frightening).

Answers: 1. confusing  |  2. disappointed  |  3. frightening

Summary

  • Use -ed adjectives to describe Emotions and feelings (I am bored).
  • Use -ing adjectives to describe the cause of the emotion (The movie is boring).
  • Things and events cannot have feelings, so do not describe a movie, a journey, or a job as "bored" or "tired".

Next Step: Apply what you've learned in your daily writing and take our interactive practice tests to solidify your understanding!