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
Hello Rsb,
You are welcome to ask us about sentences that you find on our websites, or even sometimes if you find them in authentic texts in print or online, but we have a limited capacity to correct numerous sentences that our users have written because it often takes quite a bit of time to answer them properly. That's what the two sentences you've asked about here appear to be, and neither one is correct. The issue is that our primary role here is to help our users with our website.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Rsb,
The construction here is make + sb + adjective: make him happy, make her angry, make us tired.
In your example, you need to use the adjective confused: He makes me confused.
You can also use confusing, but you'd need a very specific context:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again Rsb,
Yes, confuse is a verb. However, your question was, as far as I could judge, about the construction make sb + adjective not make sb + verb.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Mussorie,
Confused and confusing are both adjectives. Confused refers to a person who thinks something is difficult to understand (i.e., it's an effect on the person). Confusing refers to what caused the confusion, for example:
But we can't say your sentence 2. Your sentence 1 is the correct version, because the adjective refers to 'me'.
Confusing may also be a verb in the -ing form, e.g.:
But in your sentence 2, confusing isn't a verb (because after 'make', the verb must be in the infinitive form, not the -ing form).
I hope that helps :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Mussorie,
For the meaning of 'something makes me confused', that's right - sentence 2 isn't correct. Only sentence 1 is correct.
Actually, it is possible to say It makes me confusing, but it has a different meaning. It means that I am causing the confusion for other people (not feeling confusion myself). For example, if I lack the ability to explain something slowly and clearly, it makes me confusing (i.e., other people are confused) when I try to explain it. However, this seems like a less common situation to describe.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team