😴 Bored vs Boring
On a rainy day, Wob sighs, "I'm so boring." Ollie agrees. Then Ollie tells everyone about his stamp collection, and they find out what boring really means.
The rule
bored-ed
= how you FEEL
- ✅ I'm bored. Let's go out!
boring-ing
= the thing that MAKES you feel that way
- ✅ This film is boring.
- ✅ The rainy day is boring, so I'm bored.
The mix-up
- ❌ I'm so boring. (when you mean you feel bored)
- ✅ I'm so bored.
Good to know
- "I'm boring" is correct English, but it means people find YOU dull!
- The same pattern works for many pairs: tired / tiring, interested / interesting, excited / exciting.
Quick quiz
1The lesson was so ___ that I fell asleep.
Answer: boring. The lesson made you feel that way, so it's boring.
2I'm ___. Let's do something fun!
Answer: bored. It's how you feel, so it's bored.
3If you say "I'm boring", it means...
Answer: people find you dull. -ing describes the thing (or person) that causes the feeling.
Checked in
- Oxford Learner's Dictionaries: bored, boring