-Ed vs. -Ing Adjectives – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are texting your younger brother to recommend a space documentary for his school project. Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “Hey! I just found this ______ documentary about the universe for your science homework.”
(A) fascinate
(B) fascinated
(C) fascinating
(D) fascination
2 “Trust me, you will be absolutely ______ by the theories about black holes.”
(A) fascinate
(B) fascinated
(C) fascinating
(D) fascination
3 “I know you usually think astronomy is a bit ______, but this movie will change your mind.”
(A) bore
(B) bored
(C) boring
(D) boredom
4 “I promise that you will not feel ______ for a single second while watching it.”
(A) bore
(B) bored
(C) boring
(D) boredom
5 “The computer animations showing the birth of stars are truly ______.”
(A) amaze
(B) amazed
(C) amazing
(D) amazement
6 “I was completely ______ when I saw how huge our sun actually is compared to Earth.”
(A) amaze
(B) amazed
(C) amazing
(D) amazement
7 “The information they present about the possibility of alien life is highly ______.”
(A) interest
(B) interested
(C) interesting
(D) interestingly
8 “I am sure you will be very ______ in the episode about the Mars rovers.”
(A) interest
(B) interested
(C) interesting
(D) interestingly
9 “Sometimes reading thick science textbooks can be quite ______ after a long school day.”
(A) tire
(B) tired
(C) tiring
(D) tiredness
10 “But watching this visual guide means you won’t feel ______ at all while doing your homework.”
(A) tire
(B) tired
(C) tiring
(D) tiredness
11 “To be honest, the sheer scale of the Milky Way galaxy is completely ______.”
(A) overwhelm
(B) overwhelmed
(C) overwhelming
(D) overwhelmingly
12 “Your brain might feel a little ______ by all the giant numbers and distances!”
(A) overwhelm
(B) overwhelmed
(C) overwhelming
(D) overwhelmingly
13 “The new discoveries they show about dark matter are highly ______.”
(A) surprise
(B) surprised
(C) surprising
(D) surprisingly
14 “Even our strict science teacher was ______ by some of the recent photos from the telescope.”
(A) surprise
(B) surprised
(C) surprising
(D) surprisingly
15 “I know quantum physics usually sounds very ______ to a middle school student.”
(A) confuse
(B) confused
(C) confusing
(D) confusion
16 “However, the narrator explains everything so clearly that you won’t be ______.”
(A) confuse
(B) confused
(C) confusing
(D) confusion
17 “Learning about astronauts living in space for months is such an ______ topic.”
(A) excite
(B) excited
(C) exciting
(D) excitement
18 “I am really ______ to see your reaction to the rocket launch scene in episode three.”
(A) excite
(B) excited
(C) exciting
(D) excitement
19 “Overall, the final message about protecting our own planet Earth is very ______.”
(A) inspire
(B) inspired
(C) inspiring
(D) inspiration
20 “I felt deeply ______ to read more science books after the credits rolled.”
(A) inspire
(B) inspired
(C) inspiring
(D) inspiration
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) fascinating
- Why it is correct (The Key): Modifies the “documentary”. The documentary is the source that causes the extreme interest. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) A documentary cannot feel fascinated. (D) Noun.
2 (B) fascinated
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes your brother’s future internal feeling (“you will be…”). He will receive the emotion. -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) “You will be fascinating” means his personality will be interesting to others, which doesn’t fit the context. (D) Noun.
3 (C) boring
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the subject of “astronomy”. Astronomy causes boredom for the brother. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Astronomy cannot feel bored. (D) Noun.
4 (B) bored
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the brother’s internal emotional state (“you will not feel…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Describes a thing/movie. (D) Noun.
5 (C) amazing
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the “computer animations”. The animations cause the wonder. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Animations cannot feel amazed. (D) Noun.
6 (B) amazed
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the speaker’s internal feeling of wonder (“I was completely…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Describes the movie/sun. (D) Noun.
7 (C) interesting
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the “information”. The information causes the interest. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (B) Information cannot feel interested. (D) Adverb.
8 (B) interested
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the brother’s emotional state (“you will be very…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (C) Describes the episode. (D) Adverb.
9 (C) tiring
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the activity (“reading thick science textbooks”). The activity causes the fatigue. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Textbooks cannot feel tired. (D) Noun.
10 (B) tired
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the brother’s physical/mental state (“you won’t feel…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Describes the homework. (D) Noun.
11 (C) overwhelming
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the “sheer scale” of the galaxy (the source of the heavy, mind-blowing feeling). -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) The scale of the galaxy cannot feel overwhelmed. (D) Adverb.
12 (B) overwhelmed
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the state of the brother’s brain (“Your brain might feel…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Describes the numbers. (D) Adverb.
13 (C) surprising
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the “new discoveries”. They cause the surprise. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (B) Discoveries cannot feel surprised. (D) Adverb.
14 (B) surprised
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the teacher’s emotional reaction (“the teacher was…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb/Noun. (C) Describes the photos. (D) Adverb.
15 (C) confusing
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes “quantum physics”. The subject causes confusion. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) Physics cannot feel confused. (D) Noun.
16 (B) confused
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the brother’s mental state (“you won’t be…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Describes the subject. (D) Noun.
17 (C) exciting
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the “topic” of astronauts. The topic generates the excitement. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) A topic cannot feel excited. (D) Noun.
18 (B) excited
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the speaker’s internal anticipation (“I am really…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Means the speaker is causing excitement for others. (D) Noun.
19 (C) inspiring
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the “final message” of the film. The message provides the inspiration. -> -ING adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (B) A message cannot feel inspired. (D) Noun.
20 (B) inspired
- Why it is correct (The Key): Describes the speaker’s internal motivation after watching the film (“I felt deeply…”). -> -ED adjective.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Verb. (C) Describes the movie. (D) Noun.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The “Source vs. Receiver” Rule in Persuasion
When you are trying to convince someone to watch a movie, read a book, or study a new subject, you must paint a picture of what the thing is like and how it will make them feel.
- -ING Adjectives describe the SOURCE: Use these to describe the movie, the topic, the visual effects, or the plot. They radiate the emotion.
- Example: The space documentary is fascinating. (It has a captivating nature).
- -ED Adjectives describe the RECEIVER: Use these to describe yourself, your brother, or the audience. They receive the emotion.
- Example: You will be fascinated. (You will receive the captivating energy from the movie).
2 Elevating Your Vocabulary (Interesting vs. Fascinating)
At the B1 level, it is highly encouraged to upgrade your basic vocabulary to express stronger emotions, especially when recommending things:
- Instead of interesting, use fascinating .
- The universe is fascinating, so I am fascinated.
- Instead of surprising, use amazing or mind-blowing .
- The size of the sun is amazing, so I am amazed.
- Instead of good, use inspiring .
- The message is inspiring, so I feel inspired.
3 Grammar Check: The Verb “Feel”
Notice how often the verb feel is used with -ED adjectives. This is a massive clue in multiple-choice tests.
- I feel tired. You won’t feel bored. Your brain will feel overwhelmed. I felt inspired. * Because “feel” directly links to an internal human state, it almost exclusively takes the -ED participle when discussing emotions!