Bored or Boring: -ed and -ing Adjectives

01-ed: how you feel

Use the -ed adjective for a person's feelings: I'm bored, she was surprised, we're excited. It answers the question How do you feel?

• I'm so tired after my shift.
• We were excited about our trip to New Orleans.
• My parents were surprised by the news.

02-ing: what causes the feeling

Use the -ing adjective for the thing, place, situation or person that makes someone feel that way: a boring class, confusing directions, an exciting game.

• The directions to the stadium were confusing.
• Twelve-hour shifts are tiring.
• It was an embarrassing mistake.

03People can be both

A person can be -ed or -ing, but the meaning changes. I'm bored means I feel bored. I'm boring means I make other people feel bored! In the same way, a confused teacher doesn't understand something, but a confusing teacher is hard to understand.

So before you choose, ask: is this person feeling it, or causing it?

• My cousin is bored, so he's scrolling on his phone.
• My cousin is boring. He only talks about his car.

04Prepositions after -ed adjectives

Many -ed adjectives are followed by a preposition before a noun or an -ing form: interested in, excited about, bored with, tired of, confused about, surprised by, embarrassed about.

• Are you interested in the job?
• I'm tired of eating takeout every night.
• We were surprised by the price.

05Common mistakes