TESOL/Perceiver and perceived

"I was boring at the party." Why is this funny?

In English, a word may describe how the speaker is perceived by others, or the impression that others have of the speaker, but not both.

Mechanics

Endings

In English, words that describe our impression of something outside of us often end in -ed, and words that describe the impression we make on other people often end in -ing.

Perceived	Perceiver
The party was boring.	I was bored at the party.
Ghosts are scary.	I am scared of ghosts.
Roller coasters are exciting.	I am excited.
This job is challenging.	I am challenged by this job.

Other examples

Other words follow no particular pattern in their spelling.

• That test is hard. I am hard.
• My job is stressful. I am stressful.

Quiz

1 That is a - explanation.

	confusing
	confused

2 When I go to a concert I am - .

	exciting
	excited

3 Yesterday I was very - when I saw the news.

	interested
	interesting