The “ing” ending for an adjective describes the person, or thing that causes a feeling or reaction. Examples: The trip was exciting. The lecture was interesting. The comedian was entertaining and amusing.

The “ed” ending describes a subjective response. It tells how I feel about the thing or person. Examples: I was annoyed when I had to wait in line. I was excited about the new class. I’m interested in the new book. I’m fascinated by Japanese art.

In the following exercises, use the correct form of the adjective. Click the drop down menu for the correct answer.

1. I saw a very exhibit of Japanese painting yesterday. interestinteresting

2. The children were very by the clowns at the circus. entertainentertained

3. I couldn’t stand the movie last night. It was one of the most movies I’ve ever seen. boreboring

4. Aren’t those cranes ? They’re also graceful and beautiful. amazeamazing

5. Tom was because the application form was difficult to read. confuseconfused

6. Jose isn’t with his progress in English this semester. He wants to repeat Level Five. satisfysatisfied

7. We don’t want to be because we’re trying to finish our homework. disturbdisturbed

8. The acrobats performed some somersaults and balancing acts. astonishastonishing

9. I’m very to say that I forgot your birthday. embarrassembarrassed

10. The score I received on my last exam was somewhat . I thought I had done better. disappointdisappointing

11. I was this morning because I didn’t sleep well last night. tiretired

12. We want to paint our house, but we can’t decide what color to paint it. It’s very
frustratefrustrating

13. They’re because they want to go to the beach but it’s raining. frustratefrustrated

14. I had to take the kids out of the movie theater yesterday because the film we were watching was too . frightenfrightening

15. That singer was so that we wanted to listen to her all evening. entertainentertaining

16. The cars were going so fast on the freeway that they us. frightenfrightened

17. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are looking forward to having a holiday. relaxrelaxing

18. I was to learn that I was accepted to the University of California. I didn’t think my grades were good enough. surprisesurprised

19. I heard that Joe and Carol are getting married. Isn’t that ? amazeamazing

20. I didn’t even know they were in each other. interestinterested

21. If I don’t have the chance to use my computer for a while, I get restless and . borebored

22. I’m getting very with my browser. It keeps quitting while I’m working on my blog.
annoyannoyed

23. The cranes in the picture seem very peaceful and . relaxrelaxed

24. After doing some of these exercises, are you still about when to use “ed” or “ing”? confuseconfused

25. Please, don’t be about your English. It’s natural to make mistakes when you’re learning a new language. embarrassembarrassed

26. I listened to the lawyers at the trail, but I didn’t think their arguments were very . convinceconvincing

27. I’m not at all that Mr. Donald Bennet is guilty of any crime. convinceconvinced

28. The situation on the Gulf Coast is absolutely . How long will it take to clean up that oil spill?terrifyterrifying

29. Louise and Jeffery have a very house in the country. They stay there every summer. charm
charming

30. The food and service at our restaurant seems to be pretty good because we have a lot of customers. satisfysatisfied