Simple to explain, and easy to mistake (especially among English learners whose first language is Brazilian Portuguese) is the distinction between adjectives ending in -ing and -ed.

-ing X -ed adjectives

1. -ing adjectives, such as amazing, convincing, interesting, tiring, and so on, are used to talk about your opinion or perception of things or people.  That way, when you say for instance that a concert or performer is amazing, you are expressing your opinion about them.  Another way of looking at the same idea is understanding that the subject of the sentence is actually the source or cause of the opinion/​perception/​feeling you have about them.

That argument was very convincing, don’t you think?

What a boring play!


2. Adjectives that end in -ed (amazed, convinced, interested, tired), are used to talk about the result of being the receiver of a certain emotion or feeling.  You can say you are feeling tired because of a long and tiring trip, for example.

I’m sooo tired after that new advanced exercise class!

Everyone’s amazed at how fast that soccer player is!