A refreshing question

[WinstonSmith]

Hello.
A question on the TOEIC test reads thus:

The hotel's quiet mountain setting provides a ________ change for visitors who live in a crowded city.
a) refreshing
b) refreshment
c) refreshed
d) refresh

The student chose letter C; The answer, of course, is A. The student wanted to know why, if letter C is also an adjective, it can't be used in this sentence. I couldn't think of a good enough reason.

Anyone?

Cheers.

[marcchehab]

Hello

Yes, the difference between the two is that 'refreshing' is a 'present participle adjective', whereas 'refreshed' is a 'past participle adjective'.

I tell my students that -ing forms (present participle adjectives) are always in some way about an action ('What does it do?') and -ed (past participle adjectives) are always about the condition/state ('In what condition is it in?').

A few examples:
If an atmosphere is welcoming, the visitor feels welcomed.
A heart-breaking film has broken the now broken heart.
A pleasing result has pleased the now pleased parents.

The present perfects in the second and third sentence use the past participle as well of course.

Have fun!

[ICAL_Pete]

If you are interested in more on both the present and past participle you might like to the check the free, online ICAL Grammar Guide on the ICALwiki.