Adjectives & Participle Forms
Section: Use of English | Syllabus: Cambridge Primary English as a Second Language (0057)
Participle Adjectives: -ing and -ed
- Many adjectives are formed from verbs, ending in -ing or -ed. These are called participle adjectives.
- -ing adjectives describe the thing or person that causes a feeling: "The film was boring." (The film causes boredom.)
- -ed adjectives describe the person who experiences the feeling: "I was bored during the film." (I experienced boredom.)
- Common pairs: boring/bored, exciting/excited, interesting/interested, tiring/tired, surprising/surprised, confusing/confused.
- Quick check: if the noun causes the feeling, use -ing; if the noun experiences the feeling, use -ed.
Question: Complete the sentences with the correct form of "bore": "The lecture was very ___." and "The students felt ___."
Step 1 — In the first sentence, "the lecture" causes the feeling, so use the -ing form. Step 2 — In the second sentence, "the students" experience the feeling, so use the -ed form. Answer"The lecture was very boring." / "The students felt bored."
Ordering Adjectives Before a Noun
- When more than one adjective comes before a noun, they usually follow a set order rather than any order you like.
- A useful order, from first to last, right before the noun: opinion → size → age → shape → colour → origin → material → purpose + noun.
- Examples: "a beautiful small dog" (opinion, size), "an old round table" (age, shape), "a small red Italian car" (size, colour, origin).
- At this level, you usually only need to combine two or three adjectives together — check that size comes before colour, and opinion comes before both.
Adjectives before a noun follow a set order: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material
Common Mistakes
MistakeUsing the -ed form to describe the thing causing a feeling, e.g. "The film was bored."
FixUse the -ing form for the thing or person causing the feeling: "The film was boring."
MistakeUsing the -ing form to describe how a person feels, e.g. "I was very boring during the film."
FixUse the -ed form for the person experiencing the feeling: "I was very bored during the film."
MistakePutting adjectives in a random order before a noun, e.g. "a round old small table."
FixFollow the usual order — size, then age, then shape: "a small old round table."
Worked Example: Putting Adjectives in the Correct OrderQuestion: Put these words in the correct order before the noun: "old / small / round / table"
Step 1 — Identify each adjective's category: "small" = size, "old" = age, "round" = shape. Step 2 — Apply the usual order: size → age → shape, right before the noun. Answer"a small old round table"
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