Learning Objective: At the end of the session, the students are expected to be able to identify the correct form of adjective as it is needed in each of the following sentences.



Main points

Many adjectives ending in ‘-ing’ describe the effect that something has on someone's feelings.

Some adjectives ending in ‘-ing’ describe a process or state that continues over a period of time.

Many adjectives ending in ‘-ed’ describe people's feelings.



Rule 1. You use many ‘-ing’ adjectives to describe the effect that something has on your feelings, or on the feelings of people in general. For example, if you talk about ‘a surprising number’, you mean that the number surprises you.

alarming

amazing

annoying

astonishing

boring

charming

confusing

convincing

depressing

disappointing

embarrassing

exciting

frightening

interesting

shocking

surprising

terrifying

tiring

welcoming

worrying


Examples in sentences

a. He lives in a charming house just outside the town.

b. She always has a warm welcoming smile.

Rule 2. You use some ‘-ing’ adjectives to describe something that continues over a period of time.

ageing

booming

decreasing

dying

existing

increasing

living

remaining

Examples in sentences

a. Britain is an ageing society.

b. Increasing prices are making food very expensive.


Rule 3. Many ‘-ed’ adjectives describe people's feelings. They have the same form as the past participle of a transitive verb and have a passive meaning. For example, ‘a frightened person’ is a person who has been frightened by something.

alarmed

amused

astonished

bored

delighted

depressed

disappointed

excited

frightened

interested

satisfied

shocked

surprised

tired

troubled

worried

Examples in sentences

a. She looks alarmed about something.

b. A bored student complained to his teacher.

c. She had big blue frightened eyes.


Note that the past participles of irregular verbs do not end in ‘-ed’, but can be used as adjectives. See the Appendix for a list of irregular past participles.

d. The bird had a broken wing.

e. His coat was dirty and torn.


Exercise

Instructions: Read each sentence carefullly. Complete each line by supplying the blanks with the correct form of adjective.


In Dialogue


Bill: Hi, Mark. You look (tire) _____________.


Mark: I am. I'm totally (exhaust)______________.


Bill: Why? What have you been doing?


Mark: I've been getting my house ready for the painters to come tomorrow.
Now they ring me to tell me, yet again, that they can't come till next week.
I'm getting very (annoy) ________ with them..


Bill: That's (disappoint)____________. I'll bet that you'll be (please)___________ when it's finished.


Mark: You're not wrong! I'm starting to get very (bore) ___________ with all the delays.
It's (distress)____________.


Bill: You must be so (frustrate)_____________. When do they think they will finish painting you house.


Mark: They say that it will take about two weeks to finish. But when they will start I don't know.





Bill: Don't be too (depress) ____________. Just think of how (relieve)__________ you'll be when it's finished.


Mark: That's the (frighten)_______________ thing. I'm starting to believe that it will never be finished.


Bill: What a (shock) ______________ thought.
Never mind. One day soon you'll wake up with the (relax)________________ thought that it's finished and you don't have to worry about it anymore.


Mark: I hope you're right.