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Participle adjectives
Grammar Class
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Introduction

Your teacher

My name is Nicole .
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Participle adjectives
Some participle verbs can be used as adjectives (bored – boring), but there is a slight difference in the
way we use them:

We use the past participle to talk

Participles ending in -ed about how someone feels:

She was really interested in Math when she was at school.

I was amazed by the magician at the circus.

We use the present participle to talk

Participles ending in -ing about the person, thing or situation
which caused the feeling:
The book was very interesting, but I didn’t like the movie.
The circus was amazing, especially the magician.
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Participle adjectives
Let’s recognize the differences between them:

My little brother was really frightened because the movie was so frightening.
He was looking for an interesting movie for hours, after a while, he found one he was
interested in.
She was so annoying to the waiter; that I was annoyed by her behavior.
That movie is extremely depressing, and I was feeling depressed already, so I didn’t watch
it.
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Participle adjectives
We can also make their comparative by using “more” (not –er) and the superlative by using “most”
(not –est):

I was more frightened of dogs than spiders when I was a child.

That movie is more interesting than this one.

I think this is the most interesting talk we’ve heard today.

It was the most depressing movie I’ve ever seen.
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Participle adjectives
Here we have some of them:

ALARMED BORED ALARMING BORING

AMUSED AMAZED AMUSING AMAZING
DEPRESSED TIRED DEPRESSING TIRING
THRILLED INTERESTED THRILLING INTERESTING
EMBARRASSE ANNOYED EMBARRASSING ANNOYING
D SURPRISING
SURPRISED EXCITING
EXCITED CONFUSING
CONFUSED EXHAUSTING
EXHAUSTED FRIGHTENIN
FRIGHTENED FASCINATING
FASCINATED G
WORRIED FRUSTRATING
FRUSTRATED WORRYING
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Word classes
Choose the correct adjective:
 amused (amused/ amusing) by the clown.
My nephew was _______________
 frustrating (frustrated/ frustrating)! No matter how much I study I can’t seem to remember
It’s so ____________
this vocabulary.
 boring (bored/ boring).
This lesson is so __________
 depressed
I’m feeling _______________ (depressed/ depressing), so I’m going to go home, eat some chocolate
and go to bed early with a good book.
 fascinating
I thought her idea was absolutely _____________ (fascinated/ fascinating).
 confusing(confused/ confusing)! Can you help me?
This math problem is so ____________
 amusing(amused/ amusing), so the lesson passed quickly.
The teacher was really ___________
 exhausting (exhausted/ exhausting)! Twelve hours by bus!
The journey was ______________
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Word classes
Choose the correct adjective:
 alarming
The plane began to move in a rather ____________ (alarmed/ alarming) way.
 frightened (frightened/ frightening) when he saw the spider.
He was ____________
 embarrassed
I was really _______________ (embarrassed/ embarrassing) when I fell over in the street.
 depressing (depressed/ depressing)! There was no happy ending for any of the
That film was so _____________
characters.
 exhausted
I’m sorry, I can’t come tonight. I’m completely _____________ (exhausted/ exhausting).
 exciting
We are going in a helicopter? How __________ (excited/ exciting)!
 embarrassing
Don’t show my baby photos to people, Mom! It’s so _______________ (embarrassed/ embarrassing)
 It’s ok, it’s only me. Don’t be ____________ (alarmed/ alarming).
alarmed
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Word classes
Choose the correct adjective:
 relaxed
I am so ____________ (relaxed/ relaxing) that I don’t want to move.
 frightening (frightened/ frightening) and not at all fun.
I find horror films really ______________
 frustrated
Sometimes I get really _______________ (frustrated/ frustrating) when I can’t express myself well in
English.
 terrifyingterrifying)!
We were stopped by a man with a knife who took our money. It was ___________ (terrified/
 The show was really _____________ (interested/ interesting).
interesting
 She was ________________ (overwhelmed / overwhelming) when everyone cheered, and we gave her
presents. overwhelmed
 If I feel stressed, I find taking a bath is often ___________ (relaxed/ relaxing).
relaxing
 I’m really ____________ (tired/ tiring). I think I will go to bed.
tired
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Word classes
Choose the correct adjective:
 interested (interested/ interesting) in history.
He’s very ____________
 overwhelming (overwhelmed / overwhelming), with so many things to do and it was
The trip was ________________
all so new.
 satisfied
She is never _______________ (satisfied/ satisfying) with her work.
 tiring
Cleaning is so ___________ (tired/ tiring)! I think I’ll take a break.
 She thought the ride on the rollercoaster was __________thrilling
(thrilled/ thrilling).
 surprised
I was really ________________ (surprised / surprising) when I saw you. I had thought you were on
vacation.
 shocked(shocked/ shocking) by the man’s bad language.
My grandmother was ___________
 My niece is ____________
terrified (terrified/ terrifying) of dogs.
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Word classes
Choose the correct adjective:
 excited
My sister is so____________ (excited/ exciting) because she is going on holiday tomorrow.
 I hate long flights. I’m always really __________ (bored/ boring).
bored
 She looked very _______________ (confused/ confusing) when I told her we had to change the plan.
 confused
John was _____________ (fascinated/ fascinating) by Mandarin when he first started learning languages.
He decided to study more and now he can speak it fluently.
fascinated
 Thank you so much for the prize! I’m __________ (thrilled/ thrilling).
 My job is very ________________ (satisfied/ satisfying). I love helping people.
thrilled
 The news was so ___________
satisfying (shocked/ shocking) that she burst into tears.
 My exam results were great! It’s really ____________ (surprised / surprising) but good.
shocking
surprising