Bored or Boring? Adjectives Ending in -ed and -ing

About This Resource

A free Grade 7 ESL vocabulary worksheet on a common confusion: adjectives ending in -ed describe how a person feels (I'm bored), while adjectives ending in -ing describe the thing that causes the feeling (The film is boring). Students match pairs, choose the right form in context, correct mistakes and write about their own experiences. Includes a timed lesson plan, an editable Word version and an answer key.

Overview

Many feeling adjectives come in pairs: bored and boring, excited and exciting, tired and tiring. The -ed form tells us how someone feels. The -ing form describes the person, thing or situation that makes them feel that way. So a boring lesson makes students bored. Students learn the rule with a simple picture (cause → feeling), practice ten common pairs, read a short diary entry, correct typical errors and write sentences about real experiences.

Resource Details

Subject: ESL
Topic: Adjectives Ending in -ed and -ing
Category: Vocabulary
File Type: PDF
File Size: 250.5 KB
Published: 14 Nov 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 7 ESL (ages 12–13), A2–B1 45 minutes Vocabulary grammar writing speaking

Student Task

Yawn and say: "I'm bored. This is boring." Ask students what the difference is.
Teach the cause → feeling rule, then do activities 1 and 2 together.
Students complete activities 3 to 5. Answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Use

Find someone who: Find someone who is frightened of spiders or thinks math is interesting.
Mime and guess: a student mimes a feeling; the class says You look ___ (confused, surprised).
Review it: students rate a film or game using three -ing adjectives.

Differentiation

Support: give a two-column table with each pair and a face symbol for -ed. Challenge: add less common pairs such as fascinated/fascinating and disappointed/disappointing.

Answer Key & Assessment

Activities 1 to 4 check understanding and accuracy (answer key included). Activity 5 shows whether students can use the forms in their own sentences.

Learning Objectives

Explain the difference between -ed and -ing adjectives.
Choose the correct form in context.
Use -ed and -ing adjectives to describe real experiences.

Teacher Tips

A common error is I am boring when students mean I am bored, which changes the meaning completely. Make it memorable: if you say I'm boring, you are saying other people find you dull! Point out that people can be -ing too: My uncle is very interesting.

What's Included

6-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (6 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (5 activities)
Editable Word version of the worksheet
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)