(c) David Tillyer 1998
We often make adjectives from present
participles and past participles.
| The frightened dog lay under the desk during the thunderstorm. | What time is it--my watch is broken. |
| Kelvin finds the staff meetings tiring. | Niagra Falls in the winter is the most amazing sight. |
Present participle adjectives
(ending with -ing) have an active meaning.
Past participle adjectives (ending
with -ed) have a passive meaning.
| The rock concert was boring. | Gail was bored at the concert. |
In this example, the rock concert
caused the boredom. Gail received or felt the boredom.
| The big black bear was horribly frightening. | I was too frightened to run. |
I didn't do anything...I felt the
fear. The bear was menacing...he caused the fear.
Here are some pairs of participial
adjectives to watch out for:
| amazing amazed | exciting excited |
| boring bored | exhausting exhausted |
| baffling baffled | fascinating fascinated |
| compelling compelled | frightening frightened |
| confusing confused | invigorating invigorated |
| consuming consumed | moving moved |
| demoralizing demoralized | stirring stirred |
| disappointing disappointed | tiring tired |
| disturbing disturbed | troubling troubled |
| enriching enriched | upsetting upset |
| entertaining entertained |
Practice
#1
(c) David Tillyer 1998