Look at these examples to see how stative verbs are used.
I think that's a good idea.
I love this song!
That coffee smells good.
Do you have a pen?
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
Stative verbs describe a state rather than an action. They aren't usually used in the present continuous form.
I don't know the answer.
I'm not knowing the answer.
She really likes you.She's really liking you.
He seems happy at the moment.He's seeming happy at the moment.
Stative verbs often relate to:
- thoughts and opinions: agree, believe, doubt, guess, imagine, know, mean, recognise, remember, suspect, think, understand
- feelings and emotions: dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish
- senses and perceptions: appear, be, feel, hear, look, see, seem, smell, taste
- possession and measurement: belong, have, measure, own, possess, weigh.
Verbs that are sometimes stative
A number of verbs can refer to states or actions, depending on the context.
I think it's a good idea.
Wait a moment! I'm thinking.
The first sentence expresses an opinion. It is a mental state, so we use present simple. In the second example the speaker is actively processing thoughts about something. It is an action in progress, so we use present continuous.
Some other examples are:
have
I have an old car. (state – possession)
I'm having a quick break. (action – having a break is an activity)
see
Do you see any problems with that? (state – opinion)
We're seeing Tadanari tomorrow afternoon. (action – we're meeting him)
be
He's so interesting! (state – his permanent quality)
He's being very unhelpful. (action – he is temporarily behaving this way)
taste
This coffee tastes delicious. (state – our perception of the coffee)
Look! The chef is tasting the soup. (action – tasting the soup is an activity)
Other verbs like this include: agree, appear, doubt, feel, guess, hear, imagine, look, measure, remember, smell, weigh, wish.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hi Rsb,
OK, I can see what you mean! But, I still recommend interpreting wearing as a verb, not an adjective. That's because it doesn't fully behave as an adjective, from a structural point of view.
Some -ing verbs do behave fully as adjectives. For example:
Caring is an adjective in these examples because it can be put before the noun it describes (e.g. a caring man), and it can be used with other copular verbs instead of be (e.g. 'seems' in He seems caring). Wearing can't be used in these two ways.
Another reason is that only a verb (not an adjective) can link to an object.
As wearing has an object here (a white shirt), I recommend interpreting it as a verb.
Sorry for the rather dry and technical explanation – but I hope it helps :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Risa warysha,
'I still don't find one' is not correct in that situation -- as you suggest, you should say 'I still haven't found one' instead.
I expect there are other stative verbs. I'm afraid I don't know of an exhaustive list anywhere that I could refer you to.
I wouldn't say that 'find' is a stative verb. I'm not sure if it will help you, but you might be interested in reading about Dowty's analysis, which 'find' fails.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Rsb,
No, that's not correct. We would say 'He has a stammer'.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Westnur,
Yes! This is a type of vocative phrase (a phrase that addresses the reader/listener directly). The structure you pointed out is very common for this usage. Other examples include you liar, you fool or you star. As you can see, this structure is often used with negative descriptions.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team