# Feelings and opposites in English

Expressing feelings is one of the things children and adults need most in English. Feeling words, opposite adjectives, and everyday sentences.

Author: Aslıgül Aşkın · Published: 2026-10-01
Page address: https://grammardots.com/en/blog/feelings-and-opposites-in-english

Expressing feelings is one of the most needed skills in English; a child who can say “I'm tired” or “I'm scared” can explain themselves much better. Opposites make it easier to compare feelings and things too.

## Feelings

happy, sad, angry, scared, tired, excited, bored, worried, surprised, calm, proud, nervous.

## Talking about feelings

- “How do you feel?”
- “I feel happy.”
- “I'm a bit nervous about the exam.”
- “Why are you sad?”
- “Because my friend is moving away.”

Note that “bored” and “boring” differ: “I'm bored.” but “The film is boring.”

## Opposites

big – small, hot – cold, fast – slow, happy – sad, old – new, old – young, easy – difficult, open – closed, full – empty, early – late.

## A game idea

One person says a word and the other quickly says its opposite: “Big!” “Small!” With children, make feelings cards: show a facial expression, let the child name the feeling in English and say when they feel it.

To keep going, see [Afraid to speak English? Five steps to feel less anxious](https://grammardots.com/en/blog/fear-of-speaking-english) and [First English words for children: colours, numbers, animals, and the body](https://grammardots.com/en/blog/first-english-words-for-kids).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the difference between “bored” and “boring”?

The “-ed” form describes how a person feels, the “-ing” form what causes it: “I'm bored.”, “The film is boring.”

### Why does “old” have two opposites?

Use “old – new” for things and “old – young” for people.