Yishun English Tuition Dazhong Primary School is rebuilt as a focused Primary English guide to -ed and -ing participial adjectives: pairs such as bored/boring, interested/interesting, confused/confusing, excited/exciting, tired/tiring and surprised/surprising. Families searching for Primary English tuition in Yishun, Dazhong Primary School English tuition, PSLE English vocabulary, grammar, comprehension, composition writing and small-group English tuition often see pupils select the wrong member of the pair because both forms belong to the same word family.
I am boring usually means that I cause boredom in others. I am bored means I experience boredom. The instructions are confusing means the instructions cause confusion; The pupils are confused means the pupils experience it. The choice is not simply “people take -ed and things take -ing”. A person can be interesting, and a story character can be interested. Meaning comes first.
This page therefore owns one distinct learning job: distinguishing the experiencer from the cause or source of the feeling.
This article retains a historical school-name title for archive continuity. It does not claim affiliation with, endorsement by, or a current programme operated by Dazhong Primary School.
The 50-Second -ed/-ing Check
Ask:
- Who or what experiences the feeling or state?
- Who or what causes or produces that feeling?
- Is the adjective describing the experiencer or the source?
- Does the sentence’s subject match that role?
Bored and Boring
The pupils were bored.
The pupils experienced boredom.
The long wait was boring.
The wait caused boredom.
A Person Can Be Boring
The speaker was boring. means the speaker caused boredom in the stated context.
Do not teach the false rule that people always take -ed.
Interested and Interesting
Maya is interested in the project.
Maya experiences interest.
The project is interesting.
The project attracts interest.
An Interesting Person Is Possible
Our guide was interesting because she had travelled widely and explained her experiences clearly.
The person causes interest.
Excited and Exciting
The pupils were excited about the trip.
The trip was exciting.
Experience and source remain separate.
Surprised and Surprising
I was surprised by the result.
The result was surprising.
Confused and Confusing
The learner was confused.
The instructions were confusing.
Ask whether the sentence describes the state or what caused it.
Tired and Tiring
The pupils were tired after the walk.
The walk was tiring.
Worried and Worrying
The organiser was worried about the missing form.
The missing form was worrying.
The second presents the situation as a source of concern.
Frightened and Frightening
The child was frightened.
The sudden noise was frightening.
Do not strengthen a mild reaction into fear unless the source supports it.
Annoyed and Annoying
Maya was annoyed by the repeated noise.
The repeated noise was annoying.
Disappointed and Disappointing
The group was disappointed with the result.
The result was disappointing.
Satisfied and Satisfying
The pupils were satisfied with the explanation.
The explanation was satisfying.
Context determines whether the stronger evaluative claim is appropriate.
Embarrassed and Embarrassing
The pupil felt embarrassed.
The mistake was embarrassing.
Do Not Use the Ending Alone to Infer Time
The -ed in bored does not simply mean past tense.
I am bored now describes a present state.
Do Not Treat Every -ing Form as a Progressive Verb
The activity is boring.
Here boring functions adjectivally after is; the sentence describes the activity.
Linking Verbs Can Take These Adjectives
The pupils seemed confused.
The activity became tiring.
The result looked surprising.
The adjective complements the subject.
Prepositions Matter With -ed Forms
interested in
excited about
worried about
disappointed with/by depending on meaning and usage
Learn the useful partnership in context.
The Source of the Feeling Can Be Introduced With By
Maya was surprised by the announcement.
The announcement causes the surprise.
Do Not Infer a Feeling Merely From a Source Adjective
The task was challenging does not necessarily mean every pupil felt challenged in the same way.
Keep the individual reaction separate unless the passage supplies it.
Comprehension Questions Often Test This Relationship
If a passage says the instructions were confusing, the learner should not automatically say the teacher was confused.
Composition Benefits From Accurate Experiencer Language
I was frightened by the sudden crash is clearer than I was frightening when the narrator experiences fear.
Oral Communication Benefits From Nuance
I found the activity interesting because…
I was interested in the activity because…
Both can work, but they package the experience differently.
A Fictional Learner: Sophie and Interesting
Imagine Sophie, a fictional Primary 4 pupil. She says:
I am very interesting in science.
The tutor asks whether Sophie causes interest or experiences it.
She revises: I am very interested in science.
Later she writes Science can be interesting when… correctly.
A Fictional Learner: Adam and Bored
Adam writes:
The long speech was bored.
The tutor asks whether the speech experienced boredom.
Adam changes it to The long speech was boring for the intended meaning.
Reading Laboratory
Original passage: The first set of instructions was confusing because two steps appeared in the wrong order. Several pupils looked confused and asked for clarification. The organiser replaced the sheet with a clearer version. The pupils were relieved, and the revised activity became more interesting once they understood what to do.
Ask:
- What caused confusion? The first instructions.
- Who experienced confusion? Several pupils.
- How did pupils feel after clarification? Relieved.
- What became more interesting? The activity.
Diagnostic
- Choose: I am bored / boring by the wait.
- Choose: The wait is bored / boring.
- Choose: The instructions are confused / confusing.
- Choose: The pupils are confused / confusing.
- Explain why a person can be interesting.
- Explain why I am bored now is not a past-tense statement merely because of -ed.
Possible Answers
Bored, boring, confusing, confused. A person can cause interest and therefore be interesting. Bored is an adjective describing a present state in I am bored now.
Writing Clinic
Faulty draft: “The instructions were confused, so I became confusing. The activity was interested after the teacher explained it, and everyone was exciting.”
A clearer version is:
The instructions were confusing, so I became confused. The activity became more interesting after the teacher explained it, and everyone was excited to continue.
Word-Family Connection
These adjective pairs belong inside broader vocabulary families:
interest → interested → interesting
confuse → confused → confusing
excite → excited → exciting
The sentence job and meaning decide which form fits.
Primary 3 and Primary 4
Begin with common pairs such as bored/boring, interested/interesting and excited/exciting.
Primary 5
Add confused/confusing, worried/worrying, disappointed/disappointing and preposition partnerships.
Primary 6 and PSLE English
Pupils should select these forms accurately inside cloze, comprehension, oral and composition without relying on “people = -ed” as a shortcut.
A 90-Minute -ed/-ing Adjective Lesson
- 10 min: identify experiencer and source.
- 15 min: common pairs.
- 15 min: people can be -ing.
- 15 min: adjective versus verb-form confusion.
- 15 min: preposition partnerships.
- 15 min: reading and writing transfer.
- 5 min: fresh independent check.
What Parents Can Look For
- interested/interesting become more stable;
- the child identifies who experiences the feeling;
- people are allowed to be -ing when they cause the effect;
- -ed forms are not mistaken automatically for past tense;
- preposition partnerships improve;
- composition emotions become more precise.
The Independence Test
Give a fresh passage containing six adjective pairs. Ask the pupil to identify the experiencer and source in each case, then write two original sentences in which a person correctly takes an -ing adjective.
The Larger Goal
These adjective pairs teach an important vocabulary principle: related forms divide the world into roles. One form describes the experience; the other often describes what produces it.
Related eduKate Yishun Reading
Official Reference
Ministry of Education: English Language Syllabus 2020 Primary
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