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English · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 39

Bored or boring? ¿Aburrido o aburrida cosa?

Hablar de sentimientos y estados. Vocabulario: bored, boring, tired, excited, exciting, interested, interesting, worried, surprised, relaxed. Gramática clave: adjetivos que terminan en "-ed" y "-ing". Muchas palabras de sentimiento vienen en pareja. El de "-ed" describe cómo se siente una persona: "I'm bored", "She's tired", "We're excited". El de "-ing" describe la cosa que causa el sentimiento: "The film is boring", "The trip is exciting", "This book is interesting". Así que una persona se aburre POR una cosa aburrida (a person is bored BY a boring thing). El error clásico — y cambia el significado — es decir "I'm boring" cuando quieres decir "I'm bored": "I'm boring" le dice a la gente que TÚ haces que los demás se duerman. Rincón de pronunciación: los tres sonidos de la terminación "-ed" — /d/ (bored), /t/ (relaxed), /ɪd/ (excited, interested).

I'm boring or I'm bored? — ¿I'm boring o I'm bored?

  1. Emma You look sad. Is everything okay? Pareces triste. ¿Todo bien?
  2. Minsu It's Sunday and I have nothing to do. I'm boring. Es domingo y no tengo nada que hacer. Soy aburrido. (desliz: para tu propio sentimiento usa "-ed" — "I'm bored")
  3. Emma Careful — "I'm boring" means you make other people bored! You mean "I'm bored": you feel it. Cuidado — "I'm boring" significa que aburres a los demás. Quieres decir "I'm bored": tú lo sientes.
  4. Minsu Oh! So I'm bored, and Sundays are boring. ¡Ah! Entonces yo estoy bored (lo siento) y los domingos son boring (aburren).
  5. Emma Exactly! Come with me — there's a film festival. It's really interesting. ¡Exacto! Ven conmigo — hay un festival de cine. Es muy interesante.
  6. Minsu Great! Now I'm interested and excited. Let's go! ¡Genial! Ahora estoy interesado y emocionado. ¡Vamos!

Before the exam — Antes del examen

  1. Jack The exam is tomorrow. I'm a bit worried. El examen es mañana. Estoy un poco preocupado.
  2. Emma Don't be worried. You studied a lot. Are you tired? No te preocupes. Estudiaste mucho. ¿Estás cansado?
  3. Jack A little. The last chapter was very confusing, but the teacher is good. Un poco. El último capítulo era muy confuso, pero el profesor es bueno.
  4. Emma You'll be fine. And after the exam, we'll be so relaxed! Te irá bien. Y después del examen, ¡estaremos muy relajados!
  5. Jack You're right. I feel better now. Thanks, Emma. Tienes razón. Ahora me siento mejor. Gracias, Emma.
汉字PinyinPOSMeaning
bored adj. aburrido (persona)
boring adj. aburrido (cosa)
tired adj. cansado
excited adj. emocionado
exciting adj. emocionante
interested adj. interesado
interesting adj. interesante
worried adj. preocupado
surprised adj. sorprendido
relaxed adj. relajado

Feelings: "-ed" and "-ing" adjectives Sentimientos: adjetivos en "-ed" y "-ing"

Many feeling adjectives come as a pair — one ending in "-ed", one in "-ing" — and they are NOT interchangeable. The "-ed" form describes the PERSON who feels something: "I'm bored", "She's tired", "They're excited", "He's worried". The "-ing" form describes the THING (or person) that CAUSES the feeling: "This lesson is boring", "The journey was tiring", "The match is exciting", "The news is worrying". A simple test: ask "who feels it?" → "-ed"; ask "what causes it?" → "-ing". So "I am bored" (I feel it) but "the film is boring" (it causes it). The dangerous mistake is describing yourself with the "-ing" form: "I'm boring" does not mean you feel bored — it means YOU are a boring person who bores everyone else! Same trap with "I'm interesting" (= I fascinate people) vs "I'm interested" (= I want to know more). Use these adjectives after "be": am / is / are / was / were + adjective.

Muchos adjetivos de sentimiento vienen en pareja — uno termina en "-ed", otro en "-ing" — y NO son intercambiables. La forma "-ed" describe a la «persona» que siente algo: "I'm bored", "She's tired", "They're excited", "He's worried". La forma "-ing" describe la «cosa» (o persona) que CAUSA el sentimiento: "This lesson is boring", "The journey was tiring", "The match is exciting", "The news is worrying". Una prueba sencilla: pregunta "¿quién lo siente?" → "-ed"; pregunta "¿qué lo causa?" → "-ing". Así que "I am bored" (yo lo siento) pero "the film is boring" (lo causa). El error peligroso es describirte con la forma "-ing": "I'm boring" no significa que te aburras — significa que TÚ eres una persona aburrida que aburre a los demás. La misma trampa con "I'm interesting" (= yo fascino a la gente) frente a "I'm interested" (= quiero saber más). Usa estos adjetivos después de "be": am / is / are / was / were + adjetivo.

  • I'm bored. This lesson is boring. Estoy aburrido. Esta clase es aburrida.
  • She's very excited because the trip is so exciting. Está muy emocionada porque el viaje es muy emocionante.
  • Are you interested in music? — Yes, I think music is very interesting. ¿Te interesa la música? — Sí, creo que la música es muy interesante.
  • We were tired after the long walk. It was very tiring. Estábamos cansados después de la larga caminata. Fue muy cansado.

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