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Participle Adjectives

Some participles (like 'bored' or 'boring') can be used as adjectives. These are used in a slightly different way from normal adjectives. We usually use the past participle (ending in -ed) to talk about how someone feels:

  • I was really bored during the flight (NOT: I was really boring during the flight).
  • She’s interested in history (NOT: She’s really interesting in history).
  • John’s frightened of spiders (NOT: John’s frightening of spiders).

We usually use the present participle (ending in -ing) to talk about the person, thing, or situation which has caused the feeling:

  • It was such a long, boring flight (so I was bored).
  • I read a really interesting book about history (so I was interested).
  • Many people find spiders frightening (so they’re frightened when they see spiders).

Be careful! ‘I’m boring’ is very different from ‘I’m bored’! ‘I’m boring’ means I cause other people to be bored. This is not good! Here are some examples of when one person causes a feeling in another person:

  • I was talking to such a boring guy at the party. He talked about himself for an hour!
  • She’s a really interesting woman. She’s lived all over the world and speaks five languages.
  • My maths teacher at school was really frightening! He was always shouting at the students.

These participle adjectives make their comparative by using ‘more’ (not -er) and their superlative by using ‘most’ (not -est):

  • I was more frightened of dogs than spiders when I was a child.
  • That book is more boring than this one.
  • I think Dr Smith’s lesson was more interesting than Dr Brown’s.
  • The 24 hours on the flight to Australia was the most bored I’ve ever been.
  • I think this is the most interesting talk we’ve heard today.
  • It was the most frightening film that he’d ever seen.

Participle Adjectives Exercise 1 (based on the list below)
Participle Adjectives Exercise 2 (based on the list below)

 

Participle Adjectives Long List


Here’s a list of participle adjectives (-ed and -ing adjectives) in English. Remember, we
usually use the past participle (-ed) to talk about someone’s feelings and the present
participle (-ing) to talk about cause of the feeling.
past participle (-ed) present participle (-ing)


alarmed alarming
aggravated aggravating
amazed amazing
amused amusing
annoyed annoying
astonished astonishing
astounded astounding
bewildered bewildering
bored boring
captivated captivating
challenged challenging
charmed charming
comforted comforting
concerned concerning
confused confusing
convinced convincing
depressed depressing
devastated devastating© 2012 www.perfect-english-grammar.com
May be freely copied for personal or classroom use.
disappointed disappointing
discouraged discouraging
disgusted disgusting
distressed distressing
disturbed disturbing
embarrassed embarrassing
enchanted enchanting
encouraged encouraging
energise energising
entertained entertaining
exasperated exasperating
excited exciting
exhausted exhausting
fascinated fascinating
flattered flattering
frightened frightening
frustrated frustrating
fulfilled fulfilling
gratified gratifying
horrified horrifying
humiliated humiliating
inspired inspiring
insulted insulting
interested interesting
intrigued intriguing
irritated irritating
mystified mystifying
moved moving
overwhelmed overwhelming

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