The Key Difference
Both excited and exciting are participle adjectives formed from the verb 'excite,' but they serve different purposes. Use the -ed form (excited) to describe a person's emotional state or feeling. Use the -ing form (exciting) to describe the thing or situation that causes that emotion. In other words: people feel excited; events or things are exciting.
Why This Matters
This distinction applies to many emotion-related participle adjectives (bored/boring, interested/interesting, tired/tiring). Understanding which form to use will make your English sound more natural and help you express yourself more accurately in conversations and writing.
Excited vs Exciting at a Glance
| Dimension | Excited | Exciting |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Past participle used as an adjective (participial adjective) | Present participle used as an adjective (participial adjective) |
| What it describes | Describes a person's (or living being's) feeling — how someone feels as a result of something | Describes a thing, event, or situation — the quality that causes the feeling in someone else |
| Question it answers | "How does the person feel?" → They feel excited. | "What is the thing like?" → The thing is exciting. |
| Grammatical role | Predicate adjective or attributive adjective modifying a person / subject experiencing the emotion | Predicate adjective or attributive adjective modifying the noun that causes or produces the emotion |
| Positive example | "The children were excited about the trip." (The children feel the excitement.) |
"The trip was exciting for the children." (The trip causes the excitement.) |
| Negative example | ❌ "The movie was excited." (A movie cannot feel excitement.) |
❌ "I was so exciting to hear the news." (The person is not the source of excitement here.) |
| Question example | "Are you excited about the concert tonight?" (Asking about a person's emotional state.) |
"Was the concert exciting?" (Asking about the quality or nature of the event.) |
| Key signal words | I, you, he, she, they, we, the students, the audience — any animate subject that experiences feelings | it, the game, the news, the film, the adventure — any inanimate or abstract noun that triggers feelings |
| Key Difference: Use excited when the subject is a person or being who feels the emotion (the receiver of the feeling), and use exciting when the subject is a thing, event, or situation that causes the emotion (the source of the feeling). A quick test: if you can replace the adjective with "interested" or "thrilled," use excited; if you can replace it with "interesting" or "stimulating," use exciting. | ||
Examples
She was excited about her new job.
Describing a person's feeling · -ed adjective
The children were excited when they saw the presents.
Emotional state · -ed adjective
I'm excited to meet you next week.
Personal feeling + infinitive · -ed adjective
The film was so exciting that nobody left before the end.
Describing a thing that causes emotion · -ing adjective
We had an exciting conversation about travel.
Describing an event or activity · -ing adjective
This is an exciting opportunity for your career.
Describing something that generates interest · -ing adjective
When to use it
Describing Feelings
Use -ed when you talk about how a person (or animal) feels emotionally.
"My dog is excited when I come home from work."
Describing Situations
Use -ing when you describe things, events, or activities that create an emotional response.
"That was an exciting match yesterday."
In Opinions
Use -ed for your personal reaction; use -ing when describing why something has that effect.
"I'm interested in that exciting new research project."
Signal words
is/are + -ed (for people)
is/are + -ing (for things)
feels + -ed
seems + -ing
looks + -ing
found it + -ing
Common Mistakes
✕
Wrong
The movie was very excited.
✓
Correct
The movie was very exciting.
Movies cannot feel emotions. Use -ing to describe things that cause excitement, not -ed.
✕
Wrong
I am very exciting about the results.
✓
Correct
I am very excited about the results.
People experience emotions using -ed adjectives. Use -ing only for what causes the emotion.
✕
Wrong
This is a very excited day for the team.
✓
Correct
This is a very exciting day for the team.
A day cannot feel excited. Use -ing for situations, events, or experiences that cause excitement.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
What to Remember
- Use -ed participle adjectives to describe how people feel or their emotional state.
- Use -ing participle adjectives to describe the person, thing, or situation causing the emotion.
- The -ed form answers "how does the person feel?" and the -ing form answers "what causes that feeling?"
- This pattern applies to many emotion words: bored/boring, interested/interesting, tired/tiring, confused/confusing.
- Common mistake: saying "I am boring" instead of "I am bored" when describing your own feelings.