In Columns number 021 and 022, I wrote that some adjectives can refer to a situation or event, and to a person (a lonely road; a lonely girl). This is certainly not the case with the very large group of "〜ing" / "〜ed" adjectives connected to feelings, emotions, reactions, etc.

The "〜ing" word tells us about the situation (including events, actions, things, people, etc) and the "〜ed" word tells us about our reaction to it:

The film was boring. Therefore I was bored.
(その映画は退屈だった。それで私は退屈した)
The teacher's explanation was puzzling. The students were puzzled.
(教師の理解不能だった。生徒たちは当惑した)

I have listed below a list of these adjectives. Since this is a grammar point that is well-known and often studied, I have tried to make this list more interesting by adding many words that are probably new to a lot of readers.

The words marked with an asterisk (*) are those that can easily be used in front of a noun: a confusing situation; a confused person, etc.

There is no space to give example sentences, but all of the adjectives below can be used in the following kinds of sentences:

The thing / situation / event / experience / scene / movie / book / speech / person was 〜ing, so I was 〜ed.

CONFUSION
まごつかせる *puzzling ---- *puzzled 困惑して
困惑させる *confusing ---- *confused 困惑して
まごつかせる *disconcerting ---- *disconcerted 不安な
当惑させる discomfiting ---- discomfited 困惑して
不安にさせる *disturbing ---- disturbed 心配している
困らせる perturbing ---- perturbed 動謡して
不安にさせる agitating ---- *agitated 動謡して

NO INTEREST
退屈な *boring ---- *bored 退屈して
面白くない *uninteresting ---- *uninterested 無関心な
疲労させる fatiguing ---- fatigued 疲労して
挫折感を抱かせる *frustrating ---- *frustrated 挫折感を抱いた
迷惑な *annoying ---- *annoyed むっとして

INTEREST
愉快な *pleasing ---- *pleased 喜んで
興味のある *interesting ---- *interested 興味をもって
面白がらせる *amusing ---- *amused 面白がって
陽気にする *exhilarating ---- *exhilarated 陽気な
興奮させる *exciting ---- *excited 興奮して
刺激的な *stimulating ---- stimulated 刺激されて
ぞくぞくさせる *thrilling ---- thrilled ぞくぞくして
感動[興奮]させる *stirring ---- stirred 感動[興奮]して
熱狂的な *rousing ---- roused 興奮して
面白くてたまらない *engrossing ---- engrossed 熱中して
興味をそそる *intriguing ---- *intrigued 興味があって
しゃくに障る *provoking ---- provoked しゃくに障って
驚くべき *surprising ---- *surprised 驚いて
びっくりさせる *startling ---- *startled びっくりして

MY HEART
魅惑的な *fascinating ---- *fascinated 魅惑されて
感動的な *moving ---- moved 感動して
感動的な *touching ---- touched 心を動かされて
奮い立たせる *inspiring ---- *inspired すばらしい
うっとりさせる *entrancing ---- *entranced うっとりして
うっとりさせる *enchanting ---- *enchanted うっとりして
魅惑的な *captivating ---- *captivated とりこにされて
魅惑させるような *bewitching ---- *bewitched うっとりして
心を奪うような *enthralling ---- *enthralled 心奪われて
チャーミングな *charming ---- charmed 魅せられて

Although these too expressions look rather similar, the meanings are completely different.

"Even if" is a strong "if", as used in conditional sentences:

Even if I had the money, I would not lend it to you.
(お金があっても、あなたには貸しません)
She will have a second chance, even if she fails the exam.
(今度の試験に落ちても、彼女はまたチャンスがあるだろう)

"Even though" is a strong "although", as in the following sentences:

Even though he had two weeks to prepare, he still did not pass the exam.
(二週間の準備期間があったのに、彼は試験に合格しなかった)
My cough has not got better, even though I have been taking the medicine.
(薬を飲み続けているのに、私の咳は直っていない)

Since "even if" is used in conditional sentences, it is about unreal situations, or situations which may, or may not occur. "Even though" is about real, actual situations.

The following is from an English language test:

"Does this water ( ) salt?" "No, it's fresh water."

Should we put "include" or "contain" in the blank space?

Actually, the answer is "contain". We cannot use "include" in this sentence.

In this Column, I want to study these two easily confused words.

BASIC MEANING OF "CONTAIN"
"Y is inside X: usually concrete, but not necessarily visible"

This book (= X) contains six chapters (= Y).
（この本には6つの章がある）
This letter contains useful information.
（この手紙には有益な情報が含まれている）
Each cell contains a nucleus.
（細胞にはそれぞれ1つの核が入っている）
This pill contains vitamin C.
（この錠剤はビタミンC入りである）

BASIC MEANING OF "INCLUDE"
"Y is a (minor) part of X: concrete or non-concrete"

The final price (= X) includes the service charge (=Y).
（最後の値段にはサービスチャージが含まれている）
This book includes a chapter on the French Revolution.
（この本にはフランス革命に関する章が入っている）
The health check includes an X-ray.
（その健康診断にはレントゲン検査が含まれている）
All televisions include a remote control.
（テレビはすべてリモコン付きである）

In the following situations we can use either "contain" or "include", but with slightly different meanings:

This book contains/includes an index.

Meaning with "contain": There is an index inside this book.
Meaning with "include": This book has several parts, and one of these parts is the index.

This complex contains/includes an exhibition area.

Meaning with "contain": There is an exhibition area inside this complex.
Meaning with "include": This complex has several areas (restaurant area, relaxation area, hotel area, etc,), and one of these areas is the exhibition area.

So, to get back to the example from the test, we say, "Does this water contain salt?" because the meaning is "Is there salt in(side) this water?" The meaning is not X "Is salt part of this water?" Water is H₂O, and salt is NaCl, so salt cannot be part of water.

Collective nouns are those nouns which refer to number of people, animals, or things, when they are considered as one group

A list of some common collective nouns that refer to groups of people follows below. As you can see, I have arranged this list into rough meaning groups:

"GENERAL":

a group (of people), a team (of athletes), a class (of students), a crowd (of onlookers), *a band (of musicians)

"SOCIAL":

a nation, a tribe (of Indians), a family (of geniuses), a government, a ministry「省」, a parliament, a senate「国会の上院」, the aristocracy「貴族階級」, *a gaggle of schoolgirls 「女子生徒の騒々しい一団」, a colony (of settlers)

"OFFICIAL":

a society, a club (of chess players), a union (of miners), a committee (of experts), a jury「陪審」, a panel (of experts)「専門家の委員たち」, *a board (of directors/governors)「重役会／理事会」

"BUSINESS":

a company, a corporation, a firm (of accountants)「会計士たちの会社」, a staff (of women)

"MILITARY":

an army, a navy, *a platoon (of soldiers)「兵士の小隊」, *a squad (of soldiers/policemen)「兵士の分隊, *a regiment (of soldiers)「兵士の連隊」, *a troop (of soldiers)「兵士の一団」, *a crew (of sailors), *a posse (of lawmen)「警官などの一隊」, an enemy

"PERFORMANCE":

an audience (of music-lovers), *an orchestra (of musicians), *a cast (of actors)「出演俳優」, *a troupe of acrobats「曲芸師の一団／一座」

"CHURCH":

the clergy「聖職者（全体）」, *a conclave (of cardinals)「枢機卿の法王選挙会」, *a choir (of singers), *a congregation (of worshippers) 「礼拝に集まった信者たち」

"BAD":

a gang (of pickpockets)「スリの一団」, *a band of robbers「泥棒一団」, a mob (of protesters)「抗議する人たちの大衆」, a horde of nomads「遊牧民の群れ」, *a coven of witches「魔女の集会」, *a den of thieves 「盗賊の巣窟」

In Columns 029 and 030, I will discuss the grammar and usage of collective nouns, including the meanings of the asterisks and brackets in the above examples.