常見錯誤 Common mistake: are you boring or bored?

Posted by Grant Richardson, 6th August, 2018

‘ing’-adjectives (e.g. interestING) describe THINGS (or people)

‘ed’-adjectives (e.g. interestED) describe EMOTIONS

A: You looked excited buying the movie tickets. Do you think the movie was exciting?

B: Actually, no. I found it pretty boring. Well, at least I felt bored. But it’s ok. I’m happy to be spending time with you and my little boy.

A: I thought the villain was interesting. He certainly kept your little Tommy interested. It was definitely a kid’s movie though.

B: Yes, I’m not surprised, considering it’s a Disney animation. But I’ll admit I thought the ending was surprising.

Tip: try not to tell anyone that you are boring. Everyone has something interesting to offer! 🙂

More advanced language focus: adjective-preposition collocations

Be sure to use the correct adjective-preposition collocations (i.e. correct word combinations)

1. excited to + verb  E.g. I’m excited to see you.
2. bored with + noun  E.g. I’m bored with this lesson.
3. interested in + noun / interested to + verb  E.g. I’m very interested in this topic. / I’m interested to know to more about it.
4. surprised by + noun   E.g. I was surprised by that.