-ing or to + infinitive

It is very common to use the present and past participles of verbs as adjectives, and this can be a common cause of confusion for students. When the participle is formed from a verb of feeling, the present participle refers to the object or cause of the feeling, whereas the past participle describes the feeling itself. For example, the participles formed from the the verb interest are commonly used in this way:

The lecture was	interesting		present participle
It was an	interesting	lecture	adjective
The audience was	interested		past participle
He had an	interested	audience	adjective

A similar contrast exists with a number of other verbs which also refer to feelings and the causes of those feelings. Note that the past participle is most often used as a predicative adjective and has the same structure structure as the passive form of the verb, and there are different associated prepositions for the verbs:

Bill	was exhausted	by the work
I	was disappointed	with the result
We	were amazed	at the result

Here is a list of some of the common verbs whose participle are used in this way:

Verbs of feeling with contrasting
*present / past participles*
bore	tire	surprise	amaze	shock
disappoint	embarrass	astonish	disgust	amuse
terrify	frighten	satisfy	excite	depress
exhaust	worry	trouble	disturb	annoy

Here are some examples of these.

1. Mary thought that it was a boring film.
2. She was bored by the film.
3. Bill is annoyed when students come late.
4. Students coming in lat is annoying.
4. This is a most worrying problem.
5. We were very worried when Bill didn't come.
6. Mary was disappointed with her grades.
7. Mary's grades were disappointing.
8. Mary was depressed with her poor results.
9. It was depressing news.
10. I was surprised when she told me the news.
11. He told me an astonishing story.
12. It was not a very satisfying result.

Some problems for students

It is easy to confuse these participle adjectives and make mistakes such as the following examples:

û I am boring in the lesson.
û The students are not satisfying with the course.

Remember that the past participle should be used to refer to how you feel, and the present participle used to refer to what makes you feel like this.

Exercise: -ing or -ed?

In this exercise you select which is the best form of the verb participle to use - the -ing form or -ed.

shocked	disgusting	shocking	exciting	tired	tiring	confusing	surprised	bored
interested	disappointing	surprising	boring	embarrassed	amusing	terrified	exhausted	amazing

1. He works so hard it's not (1) he's always (2) .

2. I don't know what to do, I'm so (3) .

3. His apartment was filthy, it was really (4) .

4. I'm not very (5) in science fiction and rarely read this kind of book.

5. I was absolutely (6) after such a long journey.

6. Bill is quite (7) sometimes and kept us all laughing with his jokes.

7. I was so (8) when I found I didn't have enough money to pay the bill.

8. I was (9) when the bus crashed. All the passengers were very (10) afterwards.

9. It was a (11) accident and we were lucky no one was seriously injured.

10. The lecture was so (12) I found it hard to stay awake.

11. It was (13) that they didn't get another goal.

12. She has really made (14) progress. I am quite (15) .

13. Going on holiday is always (16) .

14. These participle adjectives can be very (17) .

15. She is usually (18) when she gets home from the office.

16. Being a teacher is a very (19) job sometimes.

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