A selection of English ESL adjectives with –ed or -ing printables

A pairwork speaking activity which allows your students to use their creativity while completing the entries with correct - ed/-ing adjectives. Yet, bear in mind that the process of filling the gaps requires your close attention - just make sure that everything is correct and the odds are high that you will hear an interesting conversation. :) 

-ED and -ING adjectives - speaking activity

Students read each sentence and  choose the correct adjective from the list. There are five pairs of adjectives ending in -ed and -ing. Suitable as revision/homework.

ADJECTIVES ENDING IN -ING  AND -ED

This is a n exercise to practise ed or ing ending adjectives

Adjectives ending in ED or ING

Some  practise  for  pupils  learning English. They have to  choose  the  correct adjective. They  can draw  some pictures to represent  these  situations. Thanks. 

ADJECTIVES ENDING IN -ED or -ING

this worksheet is practice using adjectives ending with ED or ING

adjectives with ed ing

Focused on ed/ing adjectives. It can be used as warm up or a review of the topic. Make sure the difference is clear so that they can use the adjectives correctly. I hope you pals like my work. Don't forget to say "Thank you".

Ed-Ing Adjective Questions

Worksheet to give elementary/pre-intermediate students practice with 'ed' adjectives. Students must match the adjectives to pictures and complete 10 gap-fill sentences.



Worksheet also provides review of dependent prepositions (e.g. worried about, interested in, frightened of)



Answer key on page 2

'ed' adjectives: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate

This worksheet provides learners conversation questions in order to promote and practice the use of -ed and -ing adjectives. This can be used as a pair or group work activity.

Adjectives -ed -ing

er, -est, -ed, -ing endings

Designed for pre-intermediate students, this ESL worksheet requires them to complete 10 questions choosing either 'ed' or 'ing' adjectives. 

Students are then asked to think of their answers to the questions before the questions are assigned to students who participate in a mingle.

'Ed' and 'ing' adjectives: mingle questions

Students will learn the difference between -ing and -ed adjectives.  There are some additional drills so they can remember the difference easily!  I hope you enjoy!

Adjectives with -ing and -ed

This worksheet is designed for **A2-level students** according to the CEFR framework. It focuses on **participial adjectives (-ed vs. -ing forms)**, helping students distinguish between adjectives that describe feelings (**bored, tired, stressed**) and those that describe the cause of those feelings (**boring, tiring, stressful**). The worksheet includes a variety of exercises—warm-up questions, vocabulary matching, true/false statements, multiple-choice questions, and fill-in-the-blank tasks. These activities give students ample opportunities to practice the grammar point in different contexts.


By engaging in discussion and guided practice, students will develop a deeper understanding of how to use **-ed and -ing adjectives** correctly, reducing common errors. The article "Hacks to Deal with Stress" is relatable to students, as it addresses everyday stressors while introducing the target language naturally. The task-based homework encourages students to apply what they've learned in real-life scenarios, solidifying their understanding of these commonly confused adjective forms.

Hacks to Deal with Stress: participial adjectives (-ed vs. -ing forms)

Adjectives with –ed or -ing

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

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how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

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how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

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how to persuade, convince people in English

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Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

60 Adjectives with –ed or -ing English ESL worksheets pdf & doc