Common English Errors: Are You Bored or Are You Boring?

Are you “bored” or are you “boring”? Are you “depressed” or are you “depressing”? Are you “relaxed” or are you “relaxing”? Is there a difference?

The answer is yes! There is a big difference.

Many English learners find adjectives ending in -ed and -ing confusing. How do you know which ending to use?

Adjectives, or words that are used to describe people and things, are used all the time in English. They give us more information about something.

Many adjectives have specific endings, like -y (happy, sunny, and hungry) and -ful (wonderful, beautiful, and awful).

These endings give us an idea of what the adjectives mean. 

Adjectives that end in -ed

Adjectives that end in -ed describe emotions. They tell us how people feel. 

For example:

1. A horror movie makes you feel terror. You are terrified.
2. A long, dull speech makes you feel boredom. You are bored.
3. Tax forms make you feel confusion. You are confused.

Adjectives that end in -ing
 

Adjectives that end in -ing describe the thing that causes the emotion. 

For example:

1. The horror movie made you feel terrified. The movie was terrifying.
2. The long, dull speech made you feel bored. The speech was boring.
3. The tax forms made you feel confused. Tax forms can be confusing.

Remember that people can be terrifying if they leave other people terrified. A person can be boring if he makes other people feel bored. Lastly, a taxman can be confusing if you can't understand anything he says!

We hope you are satisfied with this quick explanation. When we write posts about English grammar, we work hard to give you satisfying short lessons.