Excited or Exciting?

-ED and -ING Adjectives

Level 2 — Grammar Lesson

One Verb, Two Adjectives

The verb excite makes two adjectives: excited and exciting.

-ED = how a person FEELS
-ING = the thing that MAKES the feeling

The game is exciting. (the thing)

The fans are excited. (the people)

Both words are correct. They have different meanings.

Why -ED and -ING?

Start with the verb: The roller coaster excites Maria.

-ING = the thing DOES the action. It GIVES the feeling.
-ED = the action happens TO the person. The person GETS the feeling.

Verb sentence	Gives the feeling: -ING	Gets the feeling: -ED
The roller coaster excites Maria.	The roller coaster is exciting.	Maria is excited.
The meeting bores the workers.	The meeting is boring.	The workers are bored.

Note: This -ED is not past tense. “I am excited” is about now.

The Thing or the Person?

The thing (-ING)	The person (-ED)
The roller coaster is exciting.	Maria is excited.
It was a boring meeting.	The workers were bored.
The hike up the mountain was tiring.	The hikers were tired.
The story is interesting.	The kids are interested.

A thing cannot feel.
✗ The concert was excited.
✓ The concert was exciting.

Be Careful with People

A person can be -ED or -ING. The meaning is different.

Mr. Lee is bored. = Mr. Lee feels bored.

Mr. Lee is boring. = Other people feel bored when he talks.

In class, say: “I am bored.”
“I am boring” means you make other people bored!

More Words Like This

Verb	-ED (feeling)	-ING (thing)
excite	excited	exciting
bore	bored	boring
tire	tired	tiring
interest	interested	interesting
surprise	surprised	surprising
confuse	confused	confusing
relax	relaxed	relaxing
amaze	amazed	amazing
annoy	annoyed	annoying

Exercise 1 — Choose the Correct Word

Click a, b, c, or d. Green = correct. Red = try to see why.

1. My brother got a new bike. He is very ___.

2. This TV show is so ___. I want to change the channel.

3. I worked for ten hours today. I am very ___.

4. I read the directions three times. They are very ___.

5. Mr. Kim saw a big birthday cake on his desk. He was very ___.

6. After a hot bath, my mom was very ___.

7. A car alarm on the street rang all night. We were very ___.

8. The fireworks had ___ colors. Everyone said, “Wow!”

Exercise 2 — Fix the Mistake

The CAPITALIZED word is wrong. Say the correct word, then click to check.

1. The museum was very INTERESTED.

interesting — A museum cannot feel.

2. My grandma is BORING because she has nothing to do.

bored — Grandma feels it.

3. Carrying heavy boxes all day is TIRED.

tiring — Carrying boxes is a thing, not a person.

4. I am so EXCITING! I start my new job tomorrow.

excited — I feel it.

5. The end of the story was SURPRISED.

surprising — A story cannot feel.

6. My cousin was CONFUSING after he read the long email.

confused — My cousin feels it.

Summary — How to Choose

Ask	Use	Example
Does a person FEEL it?	-ED	I am excited.
Does a thing MAKE the feeling?	-ING	The game is exciting.

Remember: A thing cannot feel, so a thing does not use -ED.

Great work!