Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[perspectives]

Hi,

What is the difference between 'well-paying job' and 'well-paid job' ? Could you be kind enough to give me sentence examples to explain their difference? Thank you very much in advance.

Perspectives

[pugachevV]

Either is OK and they mean the same thing... The guy has a job that pays well.

[perspectives]

Thanks, pugachevV. But is there a nuance between these two adjectives? I mean could it be that well-paying job is mainly used to describe the job while well-paid job is mainly used to describe the person who gets good salary? If they're the same, are there any other adjectives like this above pattern: -ing / -ed which share the same meaning? As I know so far, -ing / -ed are used to describe different objects. Thanks for your help!

perspectives

[Lorikeet]

[Yoshiyuki]

Hi, Perspectives;

You posted a very interesting topic. Here's what I thought about it.

First of all, the crucial difference between those two expressions is that the one uses a present participle (~ing form) and the other uses a past participle (~ed form), and the present participle 'paying', in this case, derives form an intransitive verb and the past participle 'paid' derives form a transitive verb.

Next, the difference in verbs goes to show that ' a well-paying job' means a job that pays well as an attribution of the job, whereas ' a well-paid job' is a job that is assessed and a good salary is paid for.

These points into consideration, it is concluded that ' a well-paying job' is a job that promises a good salary like a doctor or a lawyer and that 'a well-paid job' is a job that a good salary can be paid for in accordance with the involvement in it.

[jumbonaut]

Taking some of what Yoshiyuki and Lorikeet said, I think "well-paying" is better used in the context "He has a well-paying job." "Well-paid" is better for a "He is a well-paid person."

I am trying to think of a situation that "well-paid job" would work, but I am having trouble. Even if the job was in the past and the compensation was great, I still think it is better to say "That job was a well-paying job."
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Pat Mallon
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