-Ed vs. -Ing Adjectives – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are writing a1-star review on a food app to warn others about a terrible dining experience. Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “I used to love this place, but my visit last night was completely ______.”
(A) disappoint
(B) disappointed
(C) disappointing
(D) disappointment
2 “I am deeply ______ with the terrible service we received from the moment we walked in.”
(A) disappoint
(B) disappointed
(C) disappointing
(D) disappointment
3 “Waiting 45 minutes just to get a menu is highly ______.”
(A) frustrate
(B) frustrated
(C) frustrating
(D) frustration
4 “My friends were getting visibly ______ as the waiters continued to ignore our table.”
(A) frustrate
(B) frustrated
(C) frustrating
(D) frustration
5 “When the food finally arrived, it was a very ______ sight.”
(A) shock
(B) shocked
(C) shocking
(D) shockingly
6 “We were completely ______ to see that the soup was freezing cold.”
(A) shock
(B) shocked
(C) shocking
(D) shockingly
7 “Finding a dirty napkin under my plate was absolutely ______.”
(A) disgust
(B) disgusted
(C) disgusting
(D) disgustingly
8 “I felt so ______ that I immediately lost my appetite.”
(A) disgust
(B) disgusted
(C) disgusting
(D) disgustingly
9 “The manager’s rude attitude when I politely complained was extremely ______.”
(A) annoy
(B) annoyed
(C) annoying
(D) annoyance
10 “I was highly ______ by his refusal to apologize or offer a refund.”
(A) annoy
(B) annoyed
(C) annoying
(D) annoyance
11 “The lack of hygiene in the restroom was quite ______.”
(A) worry
(B) worried
(C) worrying
(D) worrier
12 “I am seriously ______ that someone might actually get food poisoning here.”
(A) worry
(B) worried
(C) worrying
(D) worrier
13 “Listening to the loud, terrible background music for an hour was really ______.”
(A) tire
(B) tired
(C) tiring
(D) tiredness
14 “We were so ______ of the noise that we had to shout just to hear each other.”
(A) tire
(B) tired
(C) tiring
(D) tiredness
15 “The fact that they still charged us a 15% service fee is ______ in a bad way.”
(A) surprise
(B) surprised
(C) surprising
(D) surprisingly
16 “I am honestly ______ that this restaurant hasn’t closed down yet.”
(A) surprise
(B) surprised
(C) surprising
(D) surprisingly
17 “Arguing with the staff over the bill was an absolutely ______ experience.”
(A) exhaust
(B) exhausted
(C) exhausting
(D) exhaustion
18 “I left the restaurant feeling completely ______ and still hungry.”
(A) exhaust
(B) exhausted
(C) exhausting
(D) exhaustion
19 “Overall, paying $100 for this disaster was an incredibly ______ waste of money.”
(A) depress
(B) depressed
(C) depressing
(D) depression
20 “Do yourself a favor and avoid this place unless you want to be ______!”
(A) disappoint
(B) disappointed
(C) disappointing
(D) disappointment
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) disappointing
- Why it is correct (The Key): Modifies “my visit”. The visit/experience is the cause of the bad feeling. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) A visit cannot feel disappointed. (D) Noun.
2 (B) disappointed
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the speaker’s internal emotional state (“I am deeply…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) “I am disappointing” means you are a failure who lets other people down. (D) Noun.
3 (C) frustrating
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the action of “Waiting 45 minutes”. The action causes the frustration. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) An action cannot feel frustrated. (D) Noun.
4 (B) frustrated
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the internal feeling of the “friends”. They receive the emotion. -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Means the friends were annoying other people. (D) Noun.
5 (C) shocking
- Why it is correct (The Key): Modifies the noun “sight”. The sight of the food causes the shock. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (B) A sight cannot feel shocked. (D) Adverb.
6 (B) shocked
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the customers’ emotional reaction (“We were completely…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (C) Describes the situation. (D) Adverb.
7 (C) disgusting
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Finding a dirty napkin” is the event that produces the disgust. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (B) An event cannot feel disgusted. (D) Adverb.
8 (B) disgusted
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the speaker’s internal physical/emotional reaction (“I felt so…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (C) “I felt disgusting” means the speaker felt like they were gross and dirty. (D) Adverb.
9 (C) annoying
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the “manager’s rude attitude”. The attitude is the source of the irritation. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) An attitude cannot feel annoyed. (D) Noun.
10 (B) annoyed
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the speaker’s internal feeling (“I was highly…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Describes the manager’s behavior. (D) Noun.
11 (C) worrying
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the “lack of hygiene”. The situation causes worry. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (B) Hygiene cannot feel worried. (D) Noun (a person who worries).
12 (B) worried
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the speaker’s internal anxiety (“I am seriously…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (C) Describes the hygiene situation. (D) Noun.
13 (C) tiring
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the action of “Listening to the loud music”. The action causes the fatigue. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Listening cannot feel tired. (D) Noun.
14 (B) tired
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the physical/mental state of the customers (“We were so…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Describes the music. (D) Noun.
15 (C) surprising
- Why it is correct (The Key): Refers to the “fact” that they charged a fee. The fact causes the surprise. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (B) A fact cannot feel surprised. (D) Adverb.
16 (B) surprised
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the speaker’s emotional state (“I am honestly…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (C) Describes the restaurant. (D) Adverb.
17 (C) exhausting
- Why it is correct (The Key): Modifies the noun “experience”. The experience causes the extreme fatigue. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) An experience cannot feel exhausted. (D) Noun.
18 (B) exhausted
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the speaker’s physical/mental state after leaving (“feeling completely…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Describes the argument. (D) Noun.
19 (C) depressing
- Why it is correct (The Key): Modifies the “waste of money”. It causes a sad, heavy feeling. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) A waste of money cannot feel depressed. (D) Noun.
20 (B) disappointed
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the potential future feeling of the reader (“unless you want to be…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Describes the restaurant. (D) Noun.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The “Source vs. Receiver” Rule in Reviews
When writing a review to criticize a service, product, or place, you must clearly separate the bad service from how it made you feel.
- -ING Adjectives describe the CAUSE (The Source): Use these to describe the restaurant, the food, the waiters, the noise, or the prices. They produce the negative emotion.
- Example: The service was disappointing. The food was disgusting.
- -ED Adjectives describe the FEELING (The Receiver): Use these to describe yourself, your family, or other customers. Humans receive the emotion.
- Example: I was disappointed. I felt disgusted.
2 The Impact of Using the Wrong Suffix
If you mix up the suffixes in a review, you end up insulting yourself instead of the restaurant!
- Incorrect: “I was very disgusting!” (This means: “I was dirty and gross, and I ruined the restaurant for everyone else!”)
- Correct: “I was very disgusted!” (This means: “The restaurant was gross, and it made me feel sick.”)
3 Common Negative Vocabulary Pairs for Reviews
To write an effective and grammatically correct complaint, memorize these pairings:
- Disappointing / Disappointed: The meal is disappointing; I am disappointed.
- Frustrating / Frustrated: The long wait is frustrating; the customers are frustrated.
- Annoying / Annoyed: The loud music is annoying; we are annoyed.
- Shocking / Shocked: The rude manager is shocking; I am shocked.
- Exhausting / Exhausted: Arguing is exhausting; I left feeling exhausted.