Adjectives Ending in -ED and -ING

Adjectives that End in -ING

In general, adjectives that end in -ing are used to describe things and
situations. They have an active meaning. They describe someone that is doing
something (acting) or something that is causing something to us, making us
feel in a certain way.
Adjectives that End in -ED
Adjectives that end in -ed are used to describe how people feel. They have
a passive meaning. They describe someone ‘receiving‘ some kind of
action, made to feel in a certain.
Examples of Adjectives Ending in -ED and -ING
Space science is very interesting to her.
She is interested in space science.
The -ing adjective tells you about something (space science) . The -
ed adjective tells you how somebody feels about something (She is interested
in space science because it is very interesting).
Other examples:

I was disappointed with the movie. I expected it to be much better. (I felt

disappointed.)
The movie was disappointing. I expected it to be much better. (It was a
disappointing movie.)
We were very shocked when we heard the news. (We felt shocked.)
The news was shocking. (It was a shocking news.)
To make it clearer, let’s have a look at the following examples:

A crying baby
A running man
A sleeping cat

They all “do” something: the baby is crying, the man is running, the cat is sleeping.
The –ing adjectives have an active meaning: crying, running and sleeping are
used to describe an action.
Now look at these examples with adjectives ending in –ed:
A smashed window.
An interested audience
A confused man
An excited child
These adjectives are used with a passive meaning. Something has been
done to the object (the window) or something/someone has caused people to
be in a certain state (the audience, the man, the child) or feel in a certain way.
The adjectives smashed, interested, confused, excited describe states or
feelings as a result of something done: the window has been smashed, the
audience has been interested, the man has been confused, the child has
been excited.
Notes | Adjectives Ending in -ED and -ING
▪ We can use adjectives ending in -ing for things or people. Remember
that when we use adjectives ending in -ing, it is describing the person
or thing.
▪ We can use the -ed ONLY for people (or animals) because
THINGS CANNOT FEEL.