-ed and -ing Adjectives Exercises B1+

Practice participle adjectives with -ed and -ing forms using B1+ exercises. Improve your English grammar with clear explanations and quizzes.

Participles as Adjectives: -ed and -ing Adjectives Exercises

Many adjectives in English come from verbs and are made with -ed or -ing. These are known as participle adjectives. To communicate clearly and naturally, you need to know the difference between -ed and -ing adjectives.

What Are the Adjectives That End in -ed and -ing?

Adjectives that end in -ed tell you how someone feels.
Adjectives that end in -ing tell you what makes you feel that way.

Example:
I am bored. (how I feel)
The movie is boring. (what causes the feeling)

Using -ed Adjectives

We use adjectives that end in -ed to talk about feelings or mental states, usually about people.

Common examples:
interested, excited, tired, confused, worried

Example:
She was excited about the trip.
They felt confused by the instructions.

Using -ing Adjectives

We use adjectives that end in -ing to talk about things, situations, or people that make us feel something.

Common examples:
interesting, exciting, tiring, confusing, worrying

Example:
The lesson was interesting.
It was a tiring day at work.

Common Pairs of -ed / -ing Adjectives

bored / boring
interested / interesting
tired / tiring
surprised / surprising
annoyed / annoying

The meaning of the sentence changes when you pick the right form.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don’t use adjectives that end in -ing to talk about how someone feels.
Incorrect: I am boring.
Correct: I am bored.
Don’t use adjectives that end in -ed to talk about things.
Incorrect: It was a bored class.
Correct: It was a boring class.

Adjectives that end in -ed and -ing help us talk about how we feel and why.