Adjectives Ending in -ing and -ed (boring/bored etc.)

The Core Difference

Many English adjectives come in -ing / -ed pairs: boring / bored, interesting / interested, tiring / tired, and so on.

The rule is straightforward:

Ending	What it describes	Example
-ing	The thing, person, or situation that causes the feeling	The presentation was boring.
-ed	The person who experiences the feeling	The audience was bored.

Think of it this way: the -ing adjective is the cause, and the -ed adjective is the effect on someone.

The quarterly report was surprising. Everyone in the meeting was surprised.
The training session was exhausting. All the trainees were exhausted by the end.

Use -ing when you talk about what something is like — the quality it has.

Use -ed when you talk about how someone feels — their reaction.

When you use an -ing adjective to describe a person, you are saying that person causes that feeling in others — not that the person feels it.

Mark always talks about himself. He’s really boring. (= He makes other people bored.)
Rachel is a very interesting person. She’s worked in six different countries. (= She makes other people interested.)

Compare:

Sentence	Meaning
I was bored* during the meeting.*	I felt bored.
I was boring* during the meeting.*	I made other people bored.

Getting this wrong can create an awkward misunderstanding, especially at work.

Here are the pairs you will see most often on the TOEIC and in the workplace:

Several -ed adjectives take a fixed preposition. Getting the preposition right matters for TOEIC.

Adjective	Preposition	Example
interested	in	She’s interested in* applying for the manager role.*
bored	with	He’s bored with* doing the same tasks every day.*
disappointed	with	We were disappointed with* the supplier’s service.*
excited	about	The team is excited about* the product launch.*
satisfied	with	Are you satisfied with* the contract terms?*
surprised	by / at	I was surprised by* the number of complaints.*
shocked	by / at	Everyone was shocked at* the sudden restructuring.*
annoyed	with / about	She’s annoyed about* the schedule change.*

Note: -ing adjectives do not take these prepositions. You say interested in politics (not ~~interesting in politics~~).

Question 1

The safety training video was three hours long. Most employees found it _____.

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Question 2

I've never expected to get promoted so quickly. I was _____ when I heard the news.

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Question 3

She's very _____ in joining the international sales team.

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Question 4

It was a really _____ experience. Nobody had seen anything like it before.

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Question 5

We were _____ with the hotel. The service was far below what we expected.

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