-ed and -ing Adjectives: People, Things, and Situations

A common learner shortcut says "people use -ed and things use -ing." That shortcut helps at the beginning, but it is not always true. People can also be the cause of a feeling. A teacher can be interesting, a speaker can be boring, and a neighbour can be annoying. In those sentences, the person is not receiving the feeling; the person is creating the feeling in other people.

This exercise trains that deeper distinction. You will see people, events, objects, messages, journeys, and situations. For every blank, decide whether the noun receives a feeling or causes a feeling. Use -ed for the receiver: "The audience was bored." Use -ing for the cause: "The speaker was boring." This is the rule that works in real English.