Adjectives that end in ED vs those that end in ING

Today you will learn all about the differences between adjectives that end in ED versus ING in the English language.

Look at the following two examples to understand more clearly what I’m talking about:
– I am really excited to go to the movies this evening!
– This movie is a thriller. It is very exciting.

Can you see the difference? While both sentences use the same base word in the adjective, changing the ending of the adjective from ED to ING also changes the meaning of the adjective slightly.

We typically use adjectives ending in ED to describe feelings or emotions.

Here are some examples:

– My sister is very interested in studying medicine.
– In math class I easily become confused.
– After work, I get so tired.

Contrastingly, we use adjectives ending in ING to describe the characteristics of situations or things. That is to say, the things or people that make you feel a certain way.

For example:

– This book is so boring, I am not interested at all!
– I feel bored when I read this book.
– The ending of the book was very surprising! I did not expect things to conclude like that.
– I was surprised by the ending.
– Horror movies are very frightening, I cannot watch them alone.
– Horror movies make me feel frightened.

ING adjectives can also be used for people but be aware that it changes the meaning of what you are trying to say quite a bit!

Here is an example:
– Laura is very boring. (This sentence means, I do not find Laura interesting)
– Laura is bored. (This sentence means Laura is not interested in something!)