Adjectives ending -ed/ -ing

-ED
disappointed

-ING
challenging

 An adjective that ends in -ING is used to describe:

à the characteristic of a person, a thing or a situation.
à the person or thing that causes the feeling

 An adjective that ends in -ED is used to describe:

a feeling (or how a person feels) or an emotion.
It is used to describe a temporary thing.
Since only people (and some animals) have feelings, -ed adjectives cannot be used to describe an object or
situation.

Compare the difference:

• My girlfriend is bored. à (......My girlfriend feels bored) à feeling
• My girlfriend is boring. à (My girlfriend is a boring person) à characteristic of a person

You can use these adjectives to describe people or situations but be careful that you are using the correct
adjective. For example, there is a big difference in meaning between:

• I am confused. -à (I don't understand something)

• I am confusing. à (I will cause you to be confused)

• I was shocked by how shocking the accident was last night.

• They were frightened by the frightening roller-coaster ride!
• I am annoyed by how annoying that person in front of us is.
• Sally was confused by the confusing street signs in the cit

Example sentences of adjectives ending in -ED and -ING

• I am tired right now.

My flight was tiring (because it was a twelve-hour flight).

• Public toilets are usually disgusting.

I am disgusted by the smell in some of them.

• Your speech was very inspiring.

I am now inspired to do wonderful things with my life.
Summary CHART
 FALSE FRIENDS

brave courageousourag Bravo a Be good at doing sth

consistent coerente consistente
convenient helpful conveniente

distracted distrattobed distratto

miserable Non felice miserabile
morbid Non sano morbido
rude maleducato rude
sensible ragionevole sensibile
sympathetic comprensiva simpatico
terrific eccezionale terrificante
diffident timido diffidente
lunatic pazzo lunatico
List of Adjectives ending in -ED and -ING

There is quite a long list of adjectives ending in -ED and -ING in English, and most of them are based on a verb
that can be changed into an adjective by adding either -ED or -ING.

Some of the more common ones include: • Fulfilled – Fulfilling. soddisfatto

• Alarmed – Alarming. allarmato • Gratified – Gratifying. gratificante
• Aggravated – Aggravating. aggravato • Inspired – Inspiring. inspirante
• Amused – Amusing. divertente • Insulted – Insulting. offensivo
• Annoyed – Annoying. fastidioso • Interested – Interesting. interessante
• Astonished – Astonishing. stupefacente • Moved – Moving. In movimento
• Astounded – Astounding. sbalordito • Overwhelmed – Overwhelming. travolgente
• Bored – Boring. annoiato • Perplexed – Perplexing. sconcertante
• Captivated – Captivating. accattivante • Pleased – Pleasing. piacevole
• Challenged – Challenging. sfidante • Relaxed – Relaxing. rilassante
• Charmed – Charming. affascinante • Relieved – Relieving. sollevato
• Comforted – Comforting. comfortevole • Satisfied – Satisfying. rilassante
• Confused – Confusing. confondevole • Shocked – Shocking scioccante
• Convinced – Convincing. convincente • Sickened – Sickening. disgustoso
• Depressed – Depressing. triste • Soothed – Soothing. rilassante
• Disappointed – Disappointing. In contrario • Surprised – Surprising. sorprendente
• Discouraged – Discouraging. discoraggiante • Tempted – Tempting. allettante
• Disgusted – Disgusting. disgustoso • Terrified – Terrifying. terrificante
• Distressed – Distressing. distressante • Threatened – Threatening. minaccioso
• Disturbed – Disturbing. disturbante • Thrilled – Thrilling. entusiasta
• Embarrassed – Embarrassing. imbarazzante • Tired – Tiring. stancante
• Encouraged – Encouraging. incoraggiante • Touched – Touching. toccante
• Entertained – Entertaining. Intrattenente • Troubled – Troubling. turbato
• Excited – Exciting. eccitante • Unsettled – Unsettling. inquietante
• Exhausted – Exhausting. stancante • Worried – Worrying. preoccupante
• Fascinated – Fascinating. affasciantente
• Frightened – Frightening. spaventato
• Frustrated – Frustrating. frustrante
DURING THE ORA ASINCRONA

1. Complete the table false friends (brave, bravo a ... ) use thesaurus.com
2. Look at the list and look up the meaning of the adjectives you don’t know
3. Choose five pairs of adjectives and invent some sentences (10 in total)
(my suggestion: choose those you don’t know the meaning)