Present and Past Participles as Adjectives: "Bored" vs "Boring"
Learn the difference between -ing and -ed adjectives — bored vs boring, interested vs interesting — with clear rules, examples, and exam practice.
These two sentences mean very different things:
I am boring. (I cause boredom in others.)
I am bored. (I feel boredom.)
Mixing these up can lead to embarrassing mistakes. If you say “I am boring” when you mean “I am bored,” you are describing yourself as uninteresting rather than saying you have nothing to do.
This article explains the complete rule for using present participles (-ing) and past participles (-ed) as adjectives.
Rule box: -ing adjectives describe what causes a feeling. -ed adjectives describe who experiences the feeling.
| Type | Describes | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ing (present participle) | The thing/person that causes the feeling | a boring lecture, an interesting book |
| -ed (past participle) | The person/thing that experiences the feeling | a bored student, an interested reader |
| -ing (causes) | -ed (experiences) |
|---|---|
| boring | bored |
| interesting | interested |
| exciting | excited |
| surprising | surprised |
| confusing | confused |
| disappointing | disappointed |
| frightening | frightened |
| shocking | shocked |
| tiring | tired |
| annoying | annoyed |
| embarrassing | embarrassed |
| fascinating | fascinated |
| satisfying | satisfied |
| worrying | worried |
| relaxing | relaxed |
| amazing | amazed |
| exhausting | exhausted |
| terrifying | terrified |
Ask yourself: Is the subject causing the feeling, or experiencing it?
The movie was boring. (The movie causes boredom.)
I was bored. (I experienced boredom.)
The news was shocking. (The news causes shock.)
We were shocked. (We experienced shock.)
This lesson is confusing. (The lesson causes confusion.)
The students are confused. (The students experience confusion.)
Both -ing and -ed adjectives can appear in the same positions as regular adjectives:
Before a noun (attributive):
a boring lecture / a bored student
an interesting book / an interested reader
a frightening experience / a frightened child
After a linking verb (predicative):
The lecture was boring. / The student was bored.
The book is interesting. / The reader is interested.
Things (books, movies, lessons, news) typically take -ing adjectives because they cause feelings rather than experience them.
❌ The movie was bored.
✅ The movie was boring.
❌ The lesson is confused.
✅ The lesson is confusing.
People usually take -ed adjectives because they experience feelings.
❌ I am boring. (unless you mean you are uninteresting)
✅ I am bored.
Exception: People can also take -ing adjectives when describing their character or effect on others.
She is boring. (She causes boredom in others.)
He is interesting. (He causes interest in others.)
- Is the subject a person/thing that causes the feeling? → Use -ing.
- Is the subject a person/thing that experiences the feeling? → Use -ed.
- Is the subject a thing (book, movie, lesson)? → Usually -ing (it causes the feeling).
- Is the subject a person? → Could be either. Are they causing or experiencing?
- Can you rephrase with “makes me feel ___”? → If yes, use -ed for the person.
- The movie was boring. I was bored.
- The news was shocking. Everyone was shocked.
- This lesson is confusing. The students are confused.
- The journey was tiring. We were tired.
- His speech was inspiring. The audience was inspired.
- The situation was worrying. She was worried.
- The book is fascinating. I am fascinated.
- The exam results were disappointing. He was disappointed.
- The experience was frightening. The children were frightened.
- She is boring. (She makes others bored.) vs She is bored. (She feels bored.)
❌ I am boring. (when you mean you feel bored)
✅ I am bored.
This is the most common error. Remember: -ed for how you feel, -ing for what causes it.
❌ The movie was bored.
✅ The movie was boring.
Movies don’t feel emotions. They cause them. Use -ing for things.
❌ This lesson is confused.
✅ This lesson is confusing.
❌ I am confusing about this topic.
✅ I am confused about this topic.
❌ I am interesting in grammar. (unless you mean you are an interesting person)
✅ I am interested in grammar.
❌ The work was tired.
✅ The work was tiring. I was tired.
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I am boring. | I am bored. | -ed for the person feeling. |
| The movie was bored. | The movie was boring. | -ing for things that cause. |
| This lesson is confused. | This lesson is confusing. | -ing for things that cause. |
| I am interesting in grammar. | I am interested in grammar. | -ed for the person feeling. |
Choose the correct form.
- The movie was ___ . (bored / boring)
- I am ___ in this topic. (interested / interesting)
- The news was ___ . (shocked / shocking)
- Error spotting: I am very boring today.
- Error spotting: The lesson was very confused.
- Error spotting: She is interesting in music.
- Fill in the blank: The journey was ___ . We were ___ . (tiring / tired)
- Fill in the blank: The results were ___ . He was ___ . (disappointing / disappointed)
- Rewrite correctly: The book was very interested.
- Choose: The experience was ___ . (frightening / frightened)
- boring — the movie causes boredom.
- interested — you experience interest.
- shocking — the news causes shock.
- I am very bored today. — you feel boredom.
- The lesson was very confusing. — the lesson causes confusion.
- She is interested in music. — she experiences interest.
- tiring / tired — journey causes, we experience.
- disappointing / disappointed — results cause, he experiences.
- The book was very interesting. — books cause interest.
- frightening — the experience causes fear.
Rule: -ing = causes a feeling. -ed = experiences a feeling. Things usually take -ing. People take -ed when describing how they feel, and -ing when describing their effect on others.
Memory trick: “-ing causes. -ed feels. The book is boring. The reader is bored.”
Revise these:
- The movie was boring. I was bored.
- The lesson is confusing. The students are confused.
- I am interested in grammar.
- The news was shocking. We were shocked.
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