Participial adjective adalah adjective yang berakhiran -ing atau -ed yang biasanya menunjukkan

sifat seperti adjective lainnya. -ing untuk membentuk present participle, sedangkan -ed (tidak
selalu; -ed hanya untuk mewakili) untuk past participle.

Participial adjective disebut juga verbal adjective atau deverbal adjective.

Bentuk Participial Adjective

Ada participial adjective yang ada versi verb-nya yang sesuai, ada juga yang tidak. Jika ada versi
verb-nya yang sesuai, maka ada pula versi participial verb yang bentuknya sama persis dengan
participial adjective.

Verb Participial Verb Participial Adjective

to disturb, to irritate, to annoy disturbing, irritating, annoying disturbing, irritating, annoying
– – well-built, unknown

Banyak participial adjective yang tidak ada versi verb-nya berfungsi baik sebagai attributive
ataupun predicative dengan dikombinasikan dengan noun (membentuk compound adjective).

Contoh Participial Adjective

Sebagai Attributive Sebagai Predicative

sun-dried tomatoes The tomatoes were sun dried.
wind-powered cars The cars are wind powered.
mouth-watering lasagna This lasagna is mouth watering.
record-breaking natural disasters The natural disasters were record breaking.

Sifat-Sifat Participial Adjective

seperti adjective lain, participial adjective dapat:

1. dimodifikasi dengan adverb of degree:

 very embarrassing moments

 very confusing questions
 extremely well trained dog
 less damaging hair dye

2. dibentuk comparative dan superlative-nya:

 the confusing question

 more confusing question
 the most confusing question
3. kebanyakannya dapat digunakan baik sebagai attributive maupun predicative:

Sebagai Attributive Sebagai Predicative

These are confusing questions. These questions are confusing.
That’s well-trained dog. That dog is well trained.

Sebagai predicative, kata ini sering muncul setelah linking verb seperti: be, become, dan seem. -
Ing adjective cenderung untuk mendeskripsikan seseorang atau sesuatu, sedangkan -ed adjective
untuk membicarakan perasaan.

Contoh Kalimat Participial Adjective dengan Linking Verb

The customers seemed interested, but they didn’t call back.

1
(Pelanggan-pelanggan tersebut tampak tertarik tapi mereka tidak menghubungi kembali.)
He becomes depressed easily.
2
(Dia menjadi mudah sedih.)

Makna Participial Adjective

Present-participial adjective maknanya sama dengan active verb. Berarti, noun yang
dijelaskannya bertindak sebagai performer (pelaku, yang menyebabkan) dari aktivitas yang
dinamakan oleh present participle.

Contoh Present-Participial Adjective

 amazing pictures ~ pictures that amaze

 fact-finding techniques ~ techniques that find facts

Berbeda dengan past-participial adjective, kata sifat ini kebanyakannya bermakna pasif.
Dengan kata lain, noun yang dijelaskan merupakan receiver (penerima, yang merasakan) dari
aktivitas yang dinamakan oleh past participle.

Contoh Past-Participial Adjective

 a spoiled child ~ a child that is spoiled

 the forgotten years ~ years that had been forgotten
Participle Adjectives
 Download a list of common -ed and -ing adjectives in PDF here
 Download my much longer full list (no examples) in PDF here

Some participles (like 'bored' or 'boring') can be used as adjectives. These are used in a slightly different
way from normal adjectives. We usually use the past participle (ending in -ed) to talk about how
someone feels:

 I was really bored during the flight (NOT: I was really boring during the flight).
 She's interested in history (NOT: She's really interesting in history).
 John's frightened of spiders (NOT: John's frightening of spiders).

We usually use the present participle (ending in -ing) to talk about the person, thing, or situation which
has caused the feeling:

 It was such a long, boring flight (so I was bored).

 I read a really interesting book about history (so I was interested).
 Many people find spiders frightening (so they're frightened when they see spiders).

Be careful! 'I'm boring' is very different from 'I'm bored'! 'I'm boring' means I cause other people to be
bored. This is not good! Here are some examples of when one person causes a feeling in another
person:

 I was talking to such a boring guy at the party. He talked about himself for an hour!
 She's a really interesting woman. She's lived all over the world and speaks five languages.
 My maths teacher at school was really frightening! He was always shouting at the students.

These participle adjectives make their comparative by using 'more' (not -er) and their superlative by
using 'most' (not -est):

 I was more frightened of dogs than spiders when I was a child.

 That book is more boring than this one.
 I think Dr Smith's lesson was more interesting than Dr Brown's.

 For 24 hours on the flight to Australia, I was the most bored I've ever been.
 I think this is the most interesting talk we've heard today.
 It was the most frightening film that he'd ever seen.

Participle Adjectives Exercise 1 (based on the list below)

Participle Adjectives Exercise 2 (based on the list below)

List of common -ed and -ing adjectives

 Download this list in PDF here
  Download my much longer full list (no examples) in PDF here

alarming alarmed
What an alarming noise! I was alarmed by the loud bang.

amusing amused
That TV programme is really amusing. He was amused to hear his little son singing in the bath.

boring bored
I've never seen such a boring film! The students looked bored as the teacher talked and
talked.

confusing confused
I find these instructions very confusing! Could I was confused, because I asked two people and they
you come and help me? told me two different things.

depressing depressed
This weather is depressing! Is it ever going to I was feeling depressed, so I stayed at home with hot
stop raining? chocolate and a good book.

embarrassing embarrassed
That is the most embarrassing photo! I look John was really embarrassed when he fell over in front
terrible! of his new girlfriend.

exciting excited
It's a really exciting book. I couldn't wait to I'm so excited! I'm going on holiday tomorrow!
find out what happened at the end.

exhausting exhausted
I hate doing housework! It's exhausting! Julie was so exhausted after her exams, she spent the
next three days sleeping.

fascinating fascinated
The brain is fascinating, isn't it? It's amazing Joan was fascinated by her grandmother's stories of life
how much it can do. in the 1920s.

frightening frightened
What a frightening film! I don't want to walk I was really frightened of bees when I was little, but I
home on my own now! don't mind them now.

frustrating frustrated
It's frustrating when you want to say I tried all morning to send an email, but it wouldn't
something in another language, but you work. I was so frustrated!
don't know the word.
interesting interested
That was a very interesting book. She's interested in animals, so she's thinking of studying
to be a vet.

overwhelming overwhelmed
I find London a bit overwhelming. It's so busy Julie felt overwhelmed. She'd moved house, got a new
and noisy. job and was learning to drive, all at the same time.

relaxing relaxed
A nice hot bath is so relaxing after a long day. She was so relaxed, sitting in front of the fire, that she
didn't want to move.

satisfying satisfied
John loves his new job as a teacher. He says I'm very satisfied that I managed to order the meal in
it's very satisfying when he makes a student French.
understand.

shocking shocked
What a shocking crime! It's terrible. I was shocked when my co-worked admitted stealing
some money.

surprising surprised
It's surprising how many people don't want She was surprised when she arrived at her class and
to travel to another country. found the other students doing an exam. She'd thought
it was a normal lesson.

terrifying terrified
What a terrifying dog! It's huge! My little son is terrified of the dark. We always leave a
light on in his room at night.

thrilling thrilled
What thrilling music! It's some of the most I was thrilled to win first prize in the competition.
beautiful music I've ever heard.

tiring tired
My job is really tiring. I don't get home until David's too tired to come to the cinema tonight. He's
10pm sometimes. going to go to bed early.