Participle Modifiers 1: agent -ing / receiver -ed

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Source -ing / Receiver -ed
Participle Modifier List
Common Mistakes
-ed / -ing Modifiers
Practice 1
Practice 2
Practice 3

Participle Modifiers 1 -ed / -ing

Agent vs. Receiver

We use participle modifiers to indicate:

source (agent, cause) of feeling or emotion

receiver of feeling or emotion

Receiver -ed / Source -ing Modifiers

RECEIVER -ED	SOURCE -ING
We use the past participle, ending in -ed, to modify a noun that is the receiver of the feeling or emotion.	We use a present participle, ending in -ing, to modify a noun that is the source (agent or cause) of the feeling or emotion.
RECEIVER	SOURCE
The family was entertained by the clown.	The clown was entertaining the family.
The family was entertained.	The clown was entertaining.

Participle Modifier List

RECEIVER OF THE FEELING		SOURCE OF THE FEELING
alarmed	frustrated	alarming	frustrating
amused	humiliated	amusing	humiliating
annoyed	interested	annoying	interesting
astonished	intrigued	astonishing	intriguing
bored	overwhelmed	boring	overwhelming
compelled	perplexed	compelling	perplexing
concerned	pleased	concerning	pleasing
confused	relaxed	confusing	relaxing
embarrassed	relieved	embarrassing	relieving
encouraged	satisfied	encouraging	satisfying
energized	shocked	energizing	shocking
enlightened	stunned	enlightening	stunning
entertained	surprised	entertaining	surprising
excited	terrified	exciting	terrifying
exhausted	tired	exhausting	tiring
frightened		frightening

bridge towers sheep on the road

Common Mistakes

ERROR

FIX

I was surprising to see sheep walking on the road.
Pop-Q "Sheep"

I was surprised to see sheep walking on the road.
Use surprised instead of surprising as the modifier for the receiver of the feeling or emotion.

The towers of the Golden Gate Bridge are very impressing from below.
Pop-Q "Impress"

The towers of the Golden Gate Bridge are very impressive from below.
Use impressive instead of impressing as the modifier for the source of the feeling or emotion.

We had some unexpecting visitors. We were unexpected.

They were not expected by us. They were unexpected visitors
We were not expecting them. We were surprised. (re-phrase)

She was expecting. (a baby) The baby was expected in June.

Participle Modifiers

-ed (receiver) / -ing (source)

Receiver vs. Source

PAST PARTICIPIAL MODIFIER -ED	PRESENT PARTICIPIAL MODIFIER -ING
The past participle modifies the noun that is the the receiver of the feeling or emotion.	The present participle modifies the noun that is the source of the feeling or emotion.
an amused child The child receives the feeling of amusement.	an amusing ride The ride causes amusement.
Interested people can sign up for the 2-day class. (The people feel interest in the subject.)	Interesting people will will speak during the 2-day class. (People cause others to feel interest.)
Bored speakers should find something exciting to say. (The speaker feels boredom while speaking!)	Boring speakers put their attendees to sleep. (The speaker causes others to be bored.)
Amused viewers enjoy the short films. (The viewers feel the amusement.)	Amusing short films are shown at the animated film festival. (The films cause the amusement.)
Overwhelmed students end up dropping a course or two . (The students feel overwhelmed.)	Overwhelming amounts of work are given to University students. (The amount of work causes the overwhelming.)

Practice 1

Distinguishing Source – Receiver

Select the word that best completes the sentence

Select your response from the list.
Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right.

#	YOUR RESPONSE	CHECK ANSWER
1.	My bath was . I feel now.
2.	Joe is because he had a day.
3.	How to get the cheese was . The mouse was .
4.	So much homework was . The student felt .
5.	Your jokes are . I am .
6.	I was so by the movie. The scenes in the movie were .
7.	The TV program was . I felt while watching it.
8.	My angry father's words were . I felt
9.	The nurse's big needle was . I felt when she walked over to me!
10.	Ted forgot to close his zipper. It was . Ted felt .
11.	Getting hit in the behind with an arrow was . Lancelot felt .
12.	My alarm clock wouldn't stop ringing. I was . The sound was .
13.	I was after reading the news headlines .
14.	The movie, King Kong, was . The children who were watching it were .
15.	I felt after getting a massage.
16.	Michael Phelps was . Michael Phelps' Olympic win was .
17.	I was . The painting called" Mona Piggy" was . intrigue = interest
18.	He heard a strange sound and was . The strange sound was .
19.	Her weight loss from the diet was . She was .
20.	The taste was . I was .

Practice 2

Reviews of Cirque du Soleil (a performance)

Correct or Incorrect?

Select the option: correct or incorrect.
Read the feedback to check your response.

#	SENTENCE & FEEDBACK	SELECT THE SENTENCE SUBJECT
21.	Blew My Mind — I was hesitant to go, but when I got there, I was amazing.	Correct Incorrect Feedback 21
22.	Must See —This is my second time seeing this outstanding show. The lighting and music are beautiful.	Correct Incorrect Feedback 22
23.	Spectacular —There were two flying guys who were fighting in the air—entertaining.	Correct Incorrect Feedback 23
24.	Too Marvelous for Words We could not believe what we saw. Our eyes were overwhelming with color, music, dance and fighting all at once.	Correct Incorrect Feedback 24
25.	Eh…I Could Live Without It It was no big deal. I was boring throughout the whole show. I see more activity in my video games.	Correct Incorrect Feedback 25
26.	Incredible Show It's hard to imagine anyone who isn't completely impressed.	Correct Incorrect Feedback 26
27.	We Walked Out It was terrible! We went to other shows and had "holy cow!" moments. But we just felt trapped during this performance—totally uninspired. uninspired / uninspiring (adj.) – not creative or spirited	Correct Incorrect Feedback 27
28.	Best Cirque show EVER!!! You will never see anything like this anywhere else. Some parts were beautiful and dream others were terrifying.	Correct Incorrect Feedback 28
29.	A Jaw-Dropping Experience The stage, props and performers where incredible and left you wondering how they did that. jaw (n.) – the bones that hold the upper and lower teeth; chin	Correct Incorrect Feedback 29
30.	Takes Your Breath Away! We found this show intrigued. How do they suspend the performers and how do they appear to come from thin air. intriguing / intrigued (adj.) – fascinate, arouse curiosity and interest	Correct Incorrect Feedback 30

tripadvisor.com. KA - Cirque du Soleil. 2011. Web. Jun 2011.

Practice3

Editing

Impressions

Write your corrections for the sentence in the text area
Then compare your response to the answer with the "check" button.

#	YOUR RESPONSE	CHECK YOUR ANSWER
31.	The new Tesla electric sports coupe delivers an amazing amount of power. It goes from 0-60 in a surprised 4 seconds, and it has an unexpected battery range of 200 plus miles. EDIT THIS: The new Tesla coupe delivers an amazing amount of power. It goes from 0-60 in a surprised 4 seconds, and it has an unexpected battery range of 200 plus miles.
32.	An underwhelmed Bill Bradley at the New York Times says Spider-Man is "no longer the awful mess it was in February. It's just a bore. It was very unimpressing." EDIT THIS: An underwhelmed Bill Bradley at the New York Times says Spider-Man is "no longer the awful mess it was in February. It's just a bore. It was very unimpressing."
33.	A young man in a bright purple dance leotard was arrested for causing a traffic accident. When asked, "Why?", the arrested officer said that he was a public nuisance. arrest (v.) – take to the police station nuisance (n.) – someone who annoys other people EDIT THIS: A young man in a bright purple dance leotard was arrested for causing a traffic accident. When asked, "Why?", the arrested officer said that he was a public nuisance.
34.	A man with a loving wife was caught texting nude pictures of himself to young women. The disgusting wife divorced the cheating, texting husband. EDIT THIS: A man with a loving wife was caught texting nude pictures of himself to young women. The disgusting wife divorced the cheating, texting husband.
35.	The Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Germany is rated "the most confused" by a large number travelers on returning flights. While there are signs posted everywhere, they are not always current or visible in the direction you are walking. EDIT THIS: The Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Germany is rated "the most confused" by a large number travelers on returning flights. While there are signs posted everywhere, they are not always current or visible in the direction you are walking.