Lesson 3 of 4 · 10 min

Describe people and things with participles

Use participles as adjectives and distinguish meanings such as interested and interesting.

Give a noun a useful description

Participles can work as adjectives: a smiling child, a damaged box, a written invitation. A description can also follow the noun, as in 'the guests waiting outside' or 'the invitation written by Noor'. Keep the description close to the noun it belongs to.

Distinguish a feeling from its cause

With pairs such as interested/interesting and excited/exciting, the -ed adjective describes the feeling and the -ing adjective describes what causes it. 'I was interested in the talk' describes my response. 'The speaker was interesting' describes the speaker's effect on listeners. People can cause feelings too, so -ing adjectives can describe people.

Use meaning, not only the ending

The feeling/cause pattern applies to those adjective pairs, not to every participle. A broken window has no emotion. A running engine describes an activity; a repaired engine describes the result of a repair. Ask what you want the reader to understand about the noun.

See it in practice

Starting point

I enjoyed the talk, but I described my reaction by saying, 'I was very interesting.'

Using this skill

I was very interested in the talk. The speaker gave an interesting explanation of the photographs displayed behind her.

Interested describes the listener's reaction; interesting describes the explanation's effect. Displayed tells us which photographs the writer means.

01 / Check your understanding

Try the skill

Choose an answer for each question. You can try again after reading the feedback.

1. Choose the adjective that describes Noor's reaction: 'The unexpected ending made Noor feel ___.' surprising surprised surprise

2. What does 'an inspiring teacher' mean? A teacher who makes other people feel inspired. A teacher who must be feeling inspired. An incorrect phrase because -ing adjectives cannot describe people.

02 / Put it into words

Make it your own

Describe a class, event, or visit. Use a feeling/cause pair such as interested/interesting, and add a participle description of a thing, such as 'a written note' or 'the pictures displayed near the door'.

Write at least 25 words. Use the checklist and example to review your writing; this exercise does not give an automatic writing score.

Your writing:

0 / 25 words minimum Save your response with the button below.

Before you finish

My feeling adjective describes the person experiencing the feeling.
My -ing adjective identifies what causes the feeling.
My other participle description belongs clearly to its noun.

I have checked my writing against the checklist.

Read one possible response

Compare the choices this writer made with your own. Many different responses can work.

I was interested in the artist's explanation of her work. Her interesting stories helped me understand the paintings displayed near the entrance. I kept the written guide so I could read more at home.

Complete the lesson by answering both questions correctly, reaching the writing minimum, and reviewing your draft.