Participial Adjectives

Hi there!

Many adjectives that end in -ing and -ed present some difficulties for the foreign students of the English language. Many times students find it hard to decide on which adjective to use.
You knew what an adjective is. Now you know too what a participial adjective is: an adjective that comes from a verb, right? There are two types of participial adjectives, those ending in -ing and those others ending in -ed. Remember that we considered ing-adjectives as having an active sense whereas ed-adjectives were referred to as passive meaning. Look at this clarifying example:

Something or someone is boring because that makes you bored.

The thing or person causes boredom and for this you suffer boredom. That's why ing-adjectives are called active, because they cause the action, and that's why ed-adjectives are called passive, because they receive the action or the consequences of it. In fact, ing-adjectives are also called 'present participles' and ed-adjectives 'past participles.'Now have a look at these other examples:

a) The film was so boring. Everyone was bored in the cinema.

b) Kite surf is a tiring activity. I was tired after going kite surfing in that beach.

c) I was surprised about your marks. Your final marks are really surprising.

Would you know how to explain the differences in meaning of these adjectives in the sentences above?
To see a list of verbs, nouns and participial adjectives just click here.

¡Hola!

Muchos adjetivos que terminan en -ing y en -ed presentan dificultades para los estudiantes extranjeros de la lengua inglesa. Muchas veces se les hace difícil decidir entre que adjetivos utilizar.
Ya sabíais lo que es un adjetivo. Ahora también sabéis lo que es un adjetivo participial: un adjetivo que procede de un verbo, ¿verdad? Hay dos tipos de adjetivos participiales, los terminados en -ing y aquellos otros que terminan en-ed. Recordad que consideramos adjetivos en -ing los que tienen un sentido activo, mientras que los adjetivos en -ed hacen referencia al sentido pasivo. Mirad este ejemplo clarificador:

Something or someone is boring because that makes you bored.
La cosa o persona causa aburrimiento (boring) porque hace que tú sufras ese aburrimiento (bored).  Es por eso que los ajetivos en -ing se les llama activos, ya que causa la acción, y los adjetivos en -ed son llamados pasivos, ya que reciben la acción o las consecuencias de la misma. De hecho, los adjetivos con sentido activo (-ing) se llaman también particios de presente, mientras que los de sentido pasivo (-ed) participios de pasado. Ahora echad un vistazo a estos otros ejemplos:
a) The film was so boring. Everyone was bored in the cinema.
b) Kite surf is a tiring activity. I was tired after going kite surfing in that beach.
c) I was surprised about your marks. Your final marks are really surprising.
¿Serías capaz de explicar ahora las diferencias en el significado de estos adjetivos en las frases de arriba?
Para ver una lista de verbos, sustantivos y adjetivos participiales haz clic aquí.

Practice:
Exercise1, Exercise2, Exercise3, Exercise4.