I was ________ with the film; I had expected it to be better.
- (a)disappointed
- (b)disappointing
- (c)annoying
- (d)prejudiced
Answer
A
Why
Correct — A, disappointed. The subject 'I' is the person who feels the emotion, so the '-ed' participle 'disappointed' is required ('I was disappointed'). The clause 'I had expected it to be better' confirms a let-down feeling.
Why the others are wrong
- (b)disappointing — The '-ing' form describes what causes the feeling ('the film was disappointing'), not the person who feels it.
- (c)annoying — Also an '-ing' (cause) adjective, and 'annoyed/annoying' does not match 'expected it to be better' as a let-down word does.
- (d)prejudiced — 'Prejudiced' means biased beforehand, which does not fit 'I had expected it to be better'.
Concept
'-ed' versus '-ing' participial adjectives: '-ed' for the person who feels the emotion, '-ing' for the thing that causes it.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
The audience was ______ by the long delay.
- (a)boring
- (b)bored
- (c)bore
- (d)boredom
Answer(b) bored — the audience feels the emotion, so use the '-ed' form.
- practice — not a real PYQ
It was the most ______ lecture I had ever attended.
- (a)bored
- (b)boring
- (c)bore
- (d)bores
Answer(b) boring — the lecture causes the feeling, so use the '-ing' form.