Hello and welcome to English with Languissimo®, the podcast in English which will help you reach your goals so that you can lead a better life and career.
My name is Vanessa. I’m the founder and CEO of Languissimo®.
Today, I will cover the difference between “interested” and “interesting”.
- « Interested » is translated in French by “intéressé(e)(s). It is an adjective. In general, the past participle “ed” is translated in French by “é”. This is why we also find « tired » (« fatigué”), “embarrassed” (“embarrassé”), “frustrated” (“frustré”).
« To be interested » is followed by the preposition « in » in English but in French the preposition “by” is used. We therefore say « I’m interested in languages” (“je suis intéressé(e) par les langues”).
Unlike French, adjectives in English don’t need to agree with their subjects so “interested” is both singular and plural.
The verb “to interest » can be used as a synonym. You can say “I’m interested in technology” or “technology interests me”. The structure is different but the meaning is the same. You can also hear “technology is of interest to me” which is another way of saying the same thing.
Anyway, choose the one that is the easiest to you as all 3 options mean the same thing!
- « Interesting » is translated in French by “intéressant(e)(s). It is an adjective. In general, the present participle “ing” is translated in French by “ant”. This is why we also find « tiring » (« fatigant(e)(s)”), “embarrassing” (“embarrassant(e)(s)”), “frustrating” (“frustrant(e)(s)”).
Adjectives ending in “ing” are both singular and plural so you can say: they are frustrating or it is frustrating.
Some practice questions
- What are you interested in?
- What interests you?
- What is of interest to you?
- What do you find frustrating?
- Are you tired?
- Is the podcast interesting?
Ta da! That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this podcast.
Subscribe to English with Languissimo®, practice, take care and talk to you soon! Big hugs 😊