Notice how these -ing and -ed adjectives are used.

(a) Chess is an interesting game. -I am very interested in chess.

(b) Going trekking in the Himalayas this summer is an exciting idea. –We are very excited about the trek.

(c) Are all your school books this boring? -He was bored as he had no friends there.

The –ing adjectives show the qualities that chess, trekking, or these books have: they cause interest, excitement, or boredom in you. The –ed/ -en adjectives show your mental state or your physical state: how you feel in response to ideas, events or things.

A. Think of suitable –ing or –ed adjectives to answer the following questions. You may also use words from those given above.

How would you describe

(i) a good detective serial on television? __________

(ii) a debate on your favorite topic ‘Homework Should Be Banned’? ___________

(iii) how you feel when you stay indoors due to incessant rain? ___________

(iv) how you feel when you open a present? _________

(v) how you feel when you watch your favorite programme on television? _________

(vi) the look on your mother’s face as you waited in a queue? ___________

(vii) how you feel when tracking a tiger in a tiger reserve forest? __________

(viii) the story you have recently read, or a film you have seen? ___________

Look at these words: upkeep, downpour, undergo, drop out, walk- in. They are built up from a verb (keep, pour, go, drop, walk) and an adverb or a particle (up, down, under, out, in).

Use these words appropriately in the sentences below. You may consult a dictionary.


(i) A heavy …… has been forecast due to low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.
(ii) Rakesh will ……. Major surgery tomorrow morning.
(iii) My brother is responsible for the …… of our family property.
(iv) The ……. rate for his accountancy course is very high.
(v) She went to the Enterprise Company to attend a …… interview.

Now fill in the blanks in the sentences given below by combining the verb given in brackets with one of the words from the box as appropriate.

(i) The Army attempted unsuccessfully to …… the Government. (throw)

(ii) Scientists are on the brink of a major …… in cancer research. (break)

(iii) The State Government plans to build a …… for Bhubaneswar to speed up traffic on the main highway. (pass)

(iv) Gautama’s ….. on life changed when he realized that the world is full of sorrow. (look)

(v) Rakesh seemed unusually ……. after the game. (cast)

Now use the adjectives in the exercise above, as appropriate, to write a paragraph about Coorg.

Read the following passage about tea.

India and tea are so intertwined together that life without the brew is unimaginable. Tea entered our life only in the mid-nineteenth century when the British started plantations in Assam and Darjeeling. In the beginning, though, Indians shunned the drink as they thought it was a poison that led to umpteen diseases. Ironically, tea colonized Britain where it became a part of their social diary and also led to the establishment of numerous tea houses. Today, scientific research across the world has attempted to establish the beneficial qualities of tea - a fact the Japanese and the Chinese knew anyway from ancient times, attributing to its numerous medicinal properties.

[Source: ‘History: Tea Anytime’ by Ranjit Biswas from Literary review, The Hindu, 1 October 2006]

Collect information about tea, e.g. its evolution as a drink, its beneficial qualities. You can consult an encyclopedia or visit Internet websites. Then form groups of five and play the following roles: Imagine a meeting of a tea planter, a sales agent, a tea lover (consumer), a physician and a tea shop owner. Each person in the group has to put forward his/her views about tea. You may use the following words and phrases.

- I feel…… - It is important to know….

- I disagree with you - I think that tea

- I would like you to know - I agree with

- It is my feeling… - I suggest…

- May I know why you… - I am afraid…